


sweet relief (pretty please)

by celegant



Series: a different kind of tension [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, M/M, Mutual Pining, Porn With Plot, Strangers to Friends With Benefits to Lovers, kind of? they're just in denial okay, lax bro!mark and soccer bro!hyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:21:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24634483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celegant/pseuds/celegant
Summary: It takes a year, an unhealthy obsession with Lord of the Rings, and a few unexpected video calls with Mark’s mother before Donghyuck realizes that he’s somehow managed to literally fuck his way into an actual relationship.(Or: ‘101 Ways to Fail at Being Friends with Benefits’ featuring Mark and Donghyuck.)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: a different kind of tension [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1873513
Comments: 427
Kudos: 2871
Collections: goodmarkhyuck





	1. fall semester

**Author's Note:**

> .... i have literally nothing to say for myself. i got distracted from my real sports au and somehow i ended up with *waves hand* whatever this is.
> 
> thank u julia for holding my hand through this and for enabling me, and shoutout to P for all the inspo <333
> 
> and my friend made absolutely wonderful art for the boys as well ;;; [please show her some love](https://twitter.com/fullsunfIower/status/1292483431318740992)!

It starts with Jeno dragging him to the end-of-the-summer annual varsity retreat. It ends with Donghyuck in Mark’s hotel room.

"Oh, _fuck."_

Mark hovers over him, arms shaking by Donghyuck's side as he pushes in slowly. Mark's dick feels fucking huge and Donghyuck can't help the strained sigh that leaves him at the feeling of being so full. The burn of the stretch licks up his spine—a welcomed pain, one that Donghyuck is usually well-acquainted with—but it’s definitely been a while.

Donghyuck feels Mark push forward the last couple inches with a hard thrust, knocking the air out of him with a high whine. Mark leans his head down against the curve of Donghyuck's neck as he holds still, giving him time to adjust to the size.

"You okay?" Mark asks, genuinely concerned. He sounds just as winded as Donghyuck feels though, and he's trembling slightly. Donghyuck wonders how much he's holding himself back.

"Just peachy," Donghyuck manages to gasp out. "You're so fucking big, what the _hell."_

Mark chuckles, leaning back up to look down at him with a wry smile. "Not what you were expecting?"

Quite the contrary, Donghyuck has heard of the rumors. Mark Lee's made quite a name for himself around the varsity track, both for his reputation on the field and for his _extra_ curricular activities.

Donghyuck knows what he signed up for when he followed Mark back to his room. What he _wasn't_ expecting was ending up in Mark Lee's room in the first place.

(He's a bit hazy on the details, but it only took a couple hours and several shotgunned drinks for a pleasantly buzzed Donghyuck to meet his eyes from across the room. A raised eyebrow and a tip of the head later, and Donghyuck had found himself saddled with a brand new beer pong partner.

He couldn’t even be mad that Jeno ditched him again—hell, he might even be a little thankful that he did. 

Donghyuck hadn't intended to end the night pressed up against the door to the men's room, a well-toned thigh in between his legs and the handsome stranger's mouth sucking hickeys down the column of his throat, but he's not complaining. The man in front of him is slightly familiar, but Donghyuck's too distracted to focus on anything other than the warmth of the body pressed against him.

"Mark," the man had said, pulling back to take in Donghyuck's disheveled state. "Mark Lee."

"What?" he asked, a little breathless. A little dizzy from the alcohol, and all the blood rushing south.

"My name," Mark had said. "For later." He smiled then, shier than someone with his face had any right to be. "I mean, if you wanted to?"

Mark Lee. Captain of SMU's field lacrosse team. No wonder he was so familiar.

Donghyuck remembers nodding furiously, any semblance of shame thrown out the window as he grabbed the front of Mark's shirt, pulling him back down to crash their lips together in a filthy kiss.

"Fuck, wait—" Donghyuck had said, pulling back a second later in a moment of sobriety, his head thunking back against the door with a groan. "I don't—condoms. I forgot—"

"I have some back in my room," Mark had said, mouthing along Donghyuck's exposed collarbone. "But it's fine if you don't want—"

"No, no. I definitely want," Donghyuck had gasped as Mark bit down a little too harshly. That one was definitely gonna leave a mark. "Your room it is.")

It's still a little sacrilegious though, Donghyuck thinks, hooking up with a lax bro. Talk about fraternizing with the enemy—his own teammates would never let him hear the end of it if they found out. 

Donghyuck lifts his hands to frame Mark's face, pulling him down for a teasing kiss, just barely grazing Mark's lips with his. "It’s nothing I can't handle," he whispers, low and sultry, a challenge in his voice. "So c'mon, _Captain,_ do your worst."

Mark dips his head down to capture his lips in a proper kiss before slowly pulling back, a hand braced on the bed next to Donghyuck's head. "Careful what you wish for," he says, grin cheeky, before slamming in deep, Donghyuck's surprised moan music to his ears.

Any retort he could have possibly had dies in his throat, as Mark starts up at an unforgiving pace. Head thrown back against the pillows, the only sounds Donghyuck manages to make are choked-off moans and these pathetic little gasps as Mark drives in deeper and deeper each time.

His fingers twist in the sheets, clenching and unclenching to ground himself, completely overwhelmed as Mark manages to brush against Donghyuck's prostate on every other thrust.

This is going to be over embarrassingly fast for him, and he can only hope that Mark feels the same.

Donghyuck tries to reach for his cock, leaking and desperate, but Mark catches his wrists and pins them above his head with one hand. Mark's grip is tight, but not enough to bruise. Donghyuck knows he can break out of it if he wants to.

"No,” Mark says. His other hand pushes his thighs further apart, his thrusts unrelenting as he leans down to whisper in Donghyuck's ear, voice husky. “You're going to come on just my cock, or not at all."

Donghyuck's brain promptly short circuits, heart stuttering in his chest. Good fucking lord, Mark Lee is already out to kill him, and it hasn’t even been a day.

Mark releases Donghyuck's wrists, letting him wrap his arms around Mark's shoulders to pull him down for a frenzied kiss. Mark's hips stutter as Donghyuck intentionally clenches down hard, Mark breaking away from the kiss to glare up at him in response.

Donghyuck knows he looks absolutely wrecked, but the grin on his face is absolutely devilish as he smiles down at Mark. _Two can play at this game, asshole._

He watches as Mark shakes his head with an amused quirk of the lips before he pulls out completely, and Donghyuck can't help the whine that comes out at the loss. He doesn't even have time to complain as Mark manhandles him onto his front, hands on his hips to raise him up onto his hands and knees.

Mark slides back in easily, not even giving Donghyuck a chance to breathe before he picks up where he left off, the new angle lighting up Donghyuck's spine with every thrust. He feels it all the way down into his fingertips, and soon enough his arms give out from under him, helpless to do anything but take it.

"Oh, fuck," Donghyuck cries out. His moans are muffled into his arms as he feels himself hurtle towards the edge. _"Mark—"_

"That’s it," Mark croons. "You're doing so well for me, baby. Look at you just—fucking—taking—it." He punctuates each word with a harsh snap of his hips, and Donghyuck swears he's losing his mind at how fucking good everything feels. His cock, hard and leaking with precome, bounces in between his legs as he gets jostled up the bed with every thrust.

It really doesn't take much more after that. 

“I’m close,” Donghyuck brokenly sobs out. “So close, ah—fuck, _please—”_

Mark leans down, pressing hot open-mouthed kisses along the slope of Donghyuck’s shoulder. “Yeah,” he rasps, voice weak, and that's how Donghyuck can tell that he’s close too. “Yeah, me too. Come on, Donghyuck. Come for me.”

Maybe it was in the way that Mark had said his name, or in the way he had bitten down on his shoulder right after—Donghyuck isn’t sure, but his body tenses up, orgasm ripping through him so suddenly, so violently, that he doesn’t hear Mark hiss out a string of expletives as he tightens around him.

It only takes a few more thrusts after that before Mark finally comes inside of him, filling the condom. Donghyuck shivers at the sensation, spent cock twitching tiredly in interest despite the sensitivity. He feels Mark press one final kiss onto his shoulder before he pulls out, rolling the condom off to tie it, and discarding it into the direction of the bin beside the bed.

Donghyuck feels absolutely wrecked, unable to move from his previous position, ass still up in the air as he tries to regain feeling in the rest of his body. "Ugh," Donghyuck groans into the pillows. "Where have you and your dick been all my life?" He hears Mark laugh softly at him from the side of the bed, a hand stroking down his back in a comforting gesture.

Mark's hand travels lower and lower, and Donghyuck jumps at the feeling of a finger teasingly circle around his rim. He bucks forward weakly as Mark slips two fingers back inside, coming up to kiss a line up Donghyuck's spine. "I've heard about you, you know," he whispers. "You're pretty famous yourself."

It's a bit of an exaggeration, but he has an idea of what Mark's talking about. While Donghyuck isn't as well-revered among the rumor mill as Mark is, he's never been particularly shy at pulling during parties. Guys and girls alike, Donghyuck's proud to say that he’s had his fair share of repeat customers.

"I have a lot to live up to," Mark teases. "So I gotta make sure you remember me when you wake up."

Mark's quick to find his prostate again, the pads of his fingers rubbing insistently, making Donghyuck tremble at the overstimulation. He feels himself getting hard again at the ministrations, and wonders if he should be mad at himself for being so easy, or if he should be impressed by Mark's ability to get him going again.

Donghyuck barely registers his second orgasm as it hits, losing a little time as his vision whites out at the intensity. Mark eases him down lie onto the bed, gently rolling him over to his back to avoid the wet spot on the sheets.

Mark's expression is comically serious for someone who’s just given Donghyuck two of the best orgasms in his life. Mark's brows are furrowed in concern as he asks, "Are you okay? Was that too much?"

“You’re—” Donghyuck struggles to catch his breath, his entire body feeling like jelly. “You’re not half bad at this.”

Mark only snorts and gets up to go to the bathroom. He returns with a wet cloth and makes quick work of cleaning them both up. The cloth itself is warm, Donghyuck realizes, which he thinks is a nice touch. Bonus points for that.

He's about halfway asleep by the time Mark pulls him under the sheets, too tired to make the trek back to his own hotel room. There are about a million warning bells ringing in his head telling him that this isn't usually how one night stands are supposed to end. But as he feels Mark maneuver his tired body closer to his own, tucking his head under his chin and making sure to cover them both with the blanket, he can't really find it in himself to care.

"It's not fair, y'know," Donghyuck sleepily mumbles.

"What isn't fair?"

"I went twice," Donghyuck answers. "I still owe you."

He feels Mark chuckle next to him, an arm thrown around his waist as he settles in more comfortably. "You can just save it for next time."

 _Next time,_ Donghyuck vaguely remembers thinking. _That sounds nice._

This isn't usually how he reacts to the prospect of a one night stand looking for more—his reactions tend to include more panicked rejections and ghosting.

He should've known then, that _that_ was the first sign.

* * *

Donghyuck doesn't quite remember when their _thing_ started becoming a regular occurrence. He’s grateful for the convenience that Mark brings—he's gotten tired of the old song and dance involved with going out just for some casual sex. Besides, they both know what this arrangement means. It’s just a way for them to relieve some stress—nothing more, nothing less. 

There are a few unspoken rules, of course, one of which was that they'd mutually agreed to keep it between themselves.

No telling friends, no telling teammates. Their lives kept separate. It's simple. And it _works._

September arrives. It's been about a month since their first night together and they find themselves in Donghyuck's room, Mark's grip on his hips white-knuckled as Donghyuck rides him into the mattress. The bedframe underneath creaks with the movements, Donghyuck's staccato moans cutting through the otherwise silent apartment.

They're interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming closed, voices filtering through Donghyuck's walls as they both freeze, twin looks of horror on both their faces. They scramble to get off of each other as they hear footsteps just outside his door, trying to make as little noise as possible.

A knock on his locked door startles them both. "Hyuck?" Renjun's voice. "You home?"

"Shit—" Donghyuck hisses, diving off the side of his bed to hunt for their clothes. Mark tosses him a shirt from the other side of the room, already halfway into his pair of sweatpants. He hurriedly shrugs into the shirt and grabs the first pair of shorts he finds on the floor, in too much of a rush to make sure it was a clean pair.

Donghyuck silently signals for Mark to hide behind the door, opening it just enough for Renjun to see his face.

"Hey, Junnie," Donghyuck greets, smile plastered on his face. "What's up?"

Renjun raises an eyebrow at the breathless note in Donghyuck's voice, but he doesn't question it. He jerks a thumb over to the direction of the living room, where Donghyuck assumes the rest of their motley crew is waiting.

"Jaem's game got canceled so we brought lunch. Chicken and pizza. You coming?"

Donghyuck nods. "Yeah, I'll be out in a second," he says. "Just gotta finish up some, uh," Donghyuck chances a glance to the side, sees Mark trying to hold in a laugh behind a closed fist. "Homework," he finishes lamely. "Stats."

He curses himself internally for such a shitty excuse. Renjun looks at him like he's grown a second head before his lips twitch up in apparent amusement. "Homework," Renjun agrees, tone making it clear he isn't having any of Donghyuck's bullshit today. "Cool. We have class in like, an hour? So be out there in five minutes or I'm telling Jeno that your share of chicken is fair game."

"Yeah, yeah,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes before closing the door in Renjun's face. ”I'll be out in a sec."

He takes a second to breathe out a sigh of relief, before turning to the still shirtless boy next to him. Mark's shoulders are shaking with barely suppressed mirth, hair still mussed up from their earlier activities. Donghyuck takes note of the faint red scratches on his chest and feels a little bit vindicated at the sight.

Donghyuck scowls, but they both know it's for show. "Shut up," he mumbles, feeling his cheeks heat up in mortification—at the thought of them almost getting caught or because of the shoddy excuse to buy them some time, he isn’t sure.

Mark looks at him with a guileless look on his face, miming the action of zipping his mouth shut. Shaking his head, Donghyuck pokes Mark in the side, ushering him back towards the bed. 

"I'm gonna need you to stay here for the next little while, if that's okay? At least, just until they all leave," Donghyuck says, expression turning apologetic. "Sorry about this, I really thought they'd be out all day."

Mark reaches out to ruffle his hair before his hand comes down to caress the side of his face. "Hey, it's no biggie," he says, smiling softly. "I'm free until practice at five, so there's no rush."

Mark presses his thumb against Donghyuck's lower lip, eyes turning half-lidded when Donghyuck purses his lips to kiss the digit. Smiling, Mark frames his face with both of his hands, tipping his head back as he leans in for a languid kiss. He licks into Donghyuck’s mouth, almost teasing, and Donghyuck is painfully reminded of their unfinished business, can feel it against his thigh as Mark pulls his body in even closer. 

Mark pulls back and Donghyuck chases his lips with a small whine. "You'll just have to make it up to me when you get back, yeah?" Mark whispers, hand guiding Donghyuck's to cup at his semi. "Finish what you started."

With a herculean effort, Donghyuck manages to pull away, head dropping down to Mark's shoulder with a groan. "Don't make me horny before I have to go out there, you dick. S'not cool."

He feels Mark laugh against him before he's being pushed away towards the door with a pat on the butt. "Okay, okay. Go shoo, before your roommate comes back in here himself." Mark moves to lie back down in his bed. "I'll just take a nap or something. Don't worry about me."

 _It's not you that I'm worried about here,_ Donghyuck thinks. He chances one last look at Mark, briefly entertaining the thought of just locking the door and continuing where they left off—his friends be damned—before he sighs and makes to leave the room.

* * *

"Hyuck?"

Donghyuck hums around a mouthful of chicken, attention turning to Jeno next to him.

"Since when do you listen to Coldplay? I thought you hated them?"

Donghyuck's brows furrow in confusion and Jeno points down to his shirt. "Did someone gift that to you?" He looks down and blanches at the fact that he recognizes the shirt he's currently wearing as the one he'd personally stripped off of Mark just an hour ago.

"Got you the wrong size too, from the looks of it," Renjun quips from behind his cup, eyes fixated on the loose collar and drooping sleeves.

Donghyuck's going to kill him.

* * *

"You fucking gave me the wrong shirt on purpose, didn't you?"

Donghyuck re-enters the room, leftovers in hand for Mark, to find him sitting at his desk. He's wearing one of Donghyuck's oversized hoodies, almost drowning in it, and is flipping through what looks like one of Donghyuck's old yearbooks from high school. Donghyuck lets out an indignant _hey!_ before dropping the pizza box on the bed and ripping the book out of Mark's hands.

"Nope. Nuh uh. We're done," Donghyuck says, embarrassment lining his voice. "Time to go find someone else to get your dick wet because you are never going near mine ever again."

Mark just giggles at Donghyuck's reaction. "Dude, no! You were so cute," he coos. "Like, for real. Little Donghyuck with braces. Fuckin' adorable."

"Shut the fuck up, oh my god."

Mark gets up from his seat, biting his lips to hold in his laughter. "Sorry," he grins. Donghyuck scoffs and turns away from him, tossing the old book into the corner of the room. He glares at it, mentally wishing it’d spontaneously combust and take all evidence of 16-year-old Donghyuck with it. 

"I feel bad for snooping. Really, I am," Mark says, moving to wrap an arm around Donghyuck's waist. He ignores the elbow that Donghyuck's trying to dig into his ribs in protest, managing to press a kiss to Donghyuck's temple in apology. "But I really did find you cute though."

"And to think, I was gonna feed you," Donghyuck grumbles. He's stopped struggling though, so Mark counts that as a win. "You can go starve for all I care."

Mark perks up at that, looking over to the abandoned box laying on the bed. "You brought me food?"

Donghyuck wiggles out of his grip, and goes to take Mark's previously occupied seat. "Yeah, we had leftovers so you're free to take some if you're hungry," he says, crossing his arms over his chest, reminding him of the fact that he's still in Mark's shirt. "I felt bad about locking you up in here."

"Sweet, thanks man," Mark says. He sits down on Donghyuck's bed and opens up the box—Donghyuck would normally take offense to the idea of eating on his bed, but Mark looks so excited that he doesn’t have the heart to say no. Plus, he looks cute in Donghyuck's sweater, so he'll let him get away with it just this once.

"Sorry about the lack of selection, by the way," Donghyuck says. "They finished all the chicken and all that was left was Jeno's shitty Hawaiian pizza."

Mark shakes his head in response. "You kidding me? This is like, the best flavor? And I was never that big on chicken anyway, so it's no worries." He looks up and laughs again, Donghyuck's look of disgust clear on his face. "What?"

"You—" Donghyuck starts, voice pitched high in disbelief. "I've had your dick in me. What the _fuck._ I can't believe you live like this."

"It's not that bad." Mark pouts, but takes a bite of the slice anyway. “So, did your friends say anything? Think they could tell you were hiding someone in here?”

Donghyuck hums. “Probably not? They noticed the shirt though,” he says. “Which, by the way, _rude._ I’m not forgetting about that anytime soon, now my friends think I have shit taste in music.” Donghyuck waves a hand around dismissively. “But they figured it was a gift, so I think we’re safe for now.” 

“Wait, what’s wrong with my shirt?” Mark asks. “Coldplay’s cool though?”

Donghyuck's expression turns solemn as he turns his gaze down to Mark’s lap. "I'm seriously questioning all my life choices right now," he says, sliding his chair closer to the bed and reaching out to pet Mark's limp dick affectionately through his pants. "It's been a good run, but alas, your owner’s a Coldplay-loving, chicken-hating heathen. It was never meant to be." 

Mark just laughs and tosses a wad of tissues at him. Donghyuck stands up in faux indignation and tackles him back onto the bed. He sits on top of Mark's thighs and reaches over to close the pizza box, shoving it off the bed with a flourish.

“Oh, you’re totally gonna get it now,” Donghyuck says, settling back down to straddle Mark properly.

Mark smiles up at him, hands coming up to caress his thighs, fingers pushing his shorts up in anticipation. “Yeah?”

"Yep.” Donghyuck leans down, arms braced on either side of Mark's face, his own grin razor-sharp and dangerous. “So, where were we?" 

* * *

The first time anyone figures out that something was up, it was completely and undeniably Mark's fault.

What should've been just another regular afternoon of practice ended with Jeno accidentally tripping him during a scrimmage match, sending them both sprawling into the grass. Donghyuck takes a second to go over himself, making sure nothing was hurting too badly—he's laying on his back, knees bent up to avoid Jeno's prone body next to him.

"Jen," Donghyuck groans, eyes still squeezed shut from the vertigo. "I told you to watch out for that wet patch."

"Sorry, my bad." Jeno sounded breathless, Donghyuck figures the fall must've knocked the wind out of him. He feels Jeno get up next to him, then a foot gently nudging him in the side. Donghyuck opens his eyes, squinting up at Jeno's silhouette against the late afternoon sun.

"Need a hand?" Jeno asks. Donghyuck grabs the proffered hand and gets up with a grunt, dusting off the excess moisture from the wet grass off his shorts.

"Uh, Hyuck?" Jeno's voice sounds strained.

He looks up at his friend's face and takes note of the flushed cheeks. Jeno's eyes aren't looking at his face though, no—his eyes are fixated on his legs.

His thighs, specifically. And the way his shorts had ridden up after their fall.

 _Fuck,_ Donghyuck thinks. _Busted._ He doesn’t have to look down to know what Jeno’s looking at. 

He knew he shouldn't have gone over to Mark's last night, not knowing he had practice the next day. Flashes of their previous rendezvous play in his mind's eye, remembering the feeling of Mark in between his legs, sucking a line of bruises along his inner thighs as he fingered Donghyuck open.

"Um—"

Jeno holds up a hand, interrupting him. "You don't have to say anything, Hyuck," he says. "But please just tell me it isn't someone on our team."

"What? No!" Donghyuck hisses. "You know I'd never do anything to jeopardize the team like that." _And no one on the team would be stupid enough to make it this obvious._

Jeno breathes out a relieved sigh at the confirmation. Then he grins, all charming eye-smiles. "I won't ask then, don't worry."

Donghyuck eyes him warily. He knows Jeno wouldn't push, not since Donghyuck had found out about his on-again-off-again situation with Jaemin and had kept his mouth shut about it. Jeno owes him that much. 

But still, he doesn't like the idea of anyone else finding out for real. He'd like to keep whatever it was he had with Mark just between them. At least for now.

Jeno's voice breaks him out of his reverie. "I’m glad you’re finally getting laid though," he says. "You've looked happier lately. Less stressed out."

Donghyuck blinks up at him. He hadn't felt any different lately, but it must've been a big enough change for Jeno to make a note of it.

Then, Jeno throws him a cheeky little grin. "Just make sure they’re more careful next time. Or at least, tell them to ease off before practice. You're not as good at hiding things as you think you are, Cap'n."

Donghyuck scowls and flips him off, making his way back towards the bench. 

And if he comes to practice the next week wearing compression shorts under his uniform, well—Jeno doesn’t say a word, just smiles in that knowingly infuriating way of his as he pats Donghyuck’s back on the way to the field. 

* * *

Donghyuck comes home late one night to the sight of Mark Lee sitting in his living room, a deer-in-headlights expression on his face as Renjun beckons him over to them. There’s takeout containers littered all over the floor around their coffee table, and a pair of laptops sitting haphazardly on top of scattered paperwork. 

It looks a little bit like a warzone in here, which wouldn’t necessarily be unusual for someone like Renjun—lord knows he’s used to his roommate’s weird eccentricities—but Donghyuck’s still flabbergasted at Mark’s presence in their apartment. 

He doesn’t remember the last time he’d seen Mark outside of the confines of a bedroom. 

“Um?” Donghyuck doesn’t even know where to start. 

“Mark,” Renjun starts, turning his attention back to his screen. “This is Donghyuck, my roommate. Hyuck, this is Mark, he’s helping me out with that science outreach thing I was telling you about earlier. You know, the one for the kids?” 

“Thanks, Renjun, but we’ve already met,” Mark turns to him, waving, and the panic must show on his face because Donghyuck can tell he’s trying not to laugh. “Donghyuck, right? Nice to see you again, man.”

Mark sends him a wink. Donghyuck feels like throttling him. 

“Uh, yeah,” Donghyuck answers faintly. “It’s been a while, I guess?” _What?_

His confusion must show on his face because Mark shakes his head minutely, eyes darting towards Renjun then back to his face. 

“Oh? You guys know each other?” Renjun asks, tearing his eyes away from his laptop to look back and forth between Mark and Donghyuck. “From where?”

“We met once, at one of those retreats for all the varsity athletes,” Mark explains.

Renjun nods and turns back to his work, throwing out an uninterested, “Ah, jock stuff, gotcha.” Then, he lets out a small _tsk_ in irritation, getting up from his seat and walking towards the direction of the bedrooms. “Hyuck, can I borrow your printer? Mine’s acting up again.”

“Go for it,” Donghyuck says. “But you’re replacing the ink if you use it all up.”

Once Renjun was out of earshot, Donghyuck turns to Mark, voice pitched low in fear of being overheard. “What are you _doing_ here?”

Mark shrugs. “Renjun and I have a lot of the same classes, but I didn’t realize he was your roommate until we were already walking up to your door.” He raises an eyebrow at Donghyuck then. “Besides, _‘Junnie’_ isn’t exactly a telling enough nickname, so how was I supposed to know?” Donghyuck opens his mouth to retort, but Mark cuts him off. “It’s fine though, he doesn’t know about _us._ At least, not that I’ve told him.”

Donghyuck exhales a sigh of relief at the confirmation, leaning his hip against the back of the couch. “Okay, yeah. That’s good. I haven’t told him anything either.” 

No reason for them to stop then. 

He moves to take a seat on the couch, next to where Mark’s seated on the floor. “So, bio major, huh? Never would’ve guessed.”

“Well, you’ve never really asked.” Mark smiles up at him. “But yep, I’m just another one of those poor suckers trying to get into med school. Or grad school, if that doesn’t pan out.” He picks up what looks like a flyer for the program that he and Renjun are running and passes one up for Donghyuck to grab. “The outreach thing would look great on the resume.”

“On top of already being a varsity team captain?” Donghyuck whistles. “I don’t even wanna know how little sleep you get. I’ve been around Renjun long enough to know it isn’t pretty.” 

Mark shrugs. “It could be worse.” 

A few beats pass in relatively awkward silence, both parties unsure of how to navigate around each other outside of hooking up. Donghyuck’s the first to crack though, getting up from his seat and grabbing his bag. 

“Well, I’m beat, so I’m gonna go take a nap,” he declares. And then, in a lower voice, “Are we still on for tonight? Your place?” 

“Yeah,” Mark replies. 

“Any requests? Since you’re already here?”

Mark smirks. “Surprise me tonight. You pick.”

Donghyuck laughs as he turns to leave, but not before turning back to send Mark a salacious wink. “I’ll hold you to that then. And don’t worry, I know what you like.”

* * *

It's the first week of November, and they lose 3-1 against their divisional rivals in the conference semi-finals. Donghyuck feels restless, veins filled with the remnants of the adrenaline from the final minutes of the game coupled with the building frustration at himself for not having done better.

He was uncharacteristically silent as the team filed in after the loss, comforting pats on the back doing nothing for the disappointment building in his gut. His post-game debrief and pep talk felt robotic, even to his ears, and he'd done his best to ignore the concerned glances Jeno sent his way as he headed into the showers.

It feels like his body's running on autopilot, his feet moving by instinct, just walking and walking until the next thing he knows, he’s facing the now-familiar beige door to Mark's apartment.

Donghyuck rings the doorbell and briefly wonders when he started associating Mark's place—and by extension, _Mark—_ with relief. His very own little safe haven, away from the responsibilities that come with just being Lee Donghyuck.

It takes a few minutes before the door opens, Mark's wide eyes blinking back at him in surprise. "Hyuck?"

Donghyuck's never really dropped by uninvited before, and he certainly didn't give him any heads up this time around.

He takes a second to study Mark in front of him, a bit different than usual, and certainly not in a bad way. Mark clearly wasn't expecting any guests. His hair's still damp from what Donghyuck guesses was a shower, and he's dressed in a sweater emblazoned with SMU's lax team logo and some worn-out joggers.

Mark looks homey. _Cute,_ even. Totally unsexy. And yet, he can't help but find him attractive nonetheless.

The most curious thing though, Donghyuck notes, is that Mark's wearing glasses. He's never seen those before—didn't even know that Mark needed them.

There's a lot about Mark he doesn't know, he realizes.

"Hyuck? Is everything... okay?" Mark asks, stepping aside and gesturing for Donghyuck to come in. Donghyuck follows him inside, not having uttered a word since Mark answered the door. Mark takes his soccer bag from his shoulders and drops it by the side of the door.

"How did—” Mark hesitantly asks. "How did the game go?"

Instead of a proper reply, Donghyuck could only groan, dropping his head to rest on Mark's shoulder. The unexpected weight makes Mark stagger back against the door, but he makes no move to push Donghyuck away. If anything, Donghyuck's stiffens when he first feels Mark's hand come up to pet his hair in a comforting gesture, relaxing back against him at the touch.

He wonders how Mark knew he even had a game in the first place.

"That bad, huh?" Mark whispers against his temple. At Donghyuck pitiful nod, he wraps an arm around his waist. "That sucks, I'm sorry. I'm sure you did your best."

Donghyuck feels his heart clench uncomfortably at the words. Mark would know, more than anyone, what a loss like this would feel like. 

"You'll be okay, Hyuck," he says softly, before Donghyuck feels a hand tip his chin up to meet Mark's gaze. "And I don't wanna assume, but I'm guessing you came all the way here to…" Mark raises an eyebrow then, accompanied by a quirk of the lips. "Distract yourself?"

That hadn't been Donghyuck's original plan, if he were being honest. He isn't quite sure _why_ he ended up here in the first place. But he looks at the interest displayed clearly on Mark's face, and finds that he wasn't about to say no to a gift horse in the mouth.

So instead of dignifying Mark's question with a proper response, he surges up to capture Mark's lips in a bruising kiss, pressing him back against the front door. It's rougher than usual, messier and lacking their usual finesse. Donghyuck still feels the undercurrent of energy from earlier, thrumming at the prospect of a proper outlet in Mark's proposition.

Donghyuck's the first to pull away, moving down to press open-mouthed kisses down the side of Mark's neck, hands slipping underneath Mark’s sweater to palm at his sides. He hears Mark's head drop back against the door with a soft sigh, and something about their current position takes him back to the night they first met—the night _this_ all started. 

"Mark, can I—" Donghyuck pants. "Fuck, I wanna—"

"Yeah," Mark answers, because at this point he can read Donghyuck like an open book. "Yeah, anything. Whatever you want."

Donghyuck blinks up at him, surprised at how easily he’d given in. “Really? You’d let me—?”

“Yeah,” Mark confirms, eyes sparkling. “Why not?”

* * *

He's never been more thankful for the fact that Mark lives alone.

Mark’s bedroom is dark, black-out curtains drawn shut against the late afternoon sun. It takes some fumbling, Donghyuck almost tripping along the way as Mark navigates them both to the bed without breaking contact.

Donghyuck tugs at Mark's sweater as they get to the foot of the bed, impatient as ever. He watches hungrily as Mark pulls it over his head, immediately latching onto the newly exposed skin, hands everywhere, teeth biting hard enough to leave marks.

 _"Jesus,_ Hyuck," Mark grunts, hand coming up to tangle in Donghyuck's hair as he sucks down on the spot he'd just bitten. "The boys are gonna think I got mauled by an animal at the rate you're going."

Donghyuck smirks and pushes Mark down onto the bed roughly, following him down and grabbing Mark's wrists to pin them down next to his head. He takes a second to appreciate his handiwork—Mark under him, flushed all the way down to his chest, spots of red and purple blooming all over pale skin.

"I can't help it, you bruise so fucking easily," Donghyuck says, one hand tracing down, thumb pressing into a spot he knows is particularly tender. His eyes darken as Mark arches under his touch. "Shit, Mark, you're so pretty."

Donghyuck presses his hips down, letting Mark feel the hard outline of his cock, thick and noticeable even through his jeans. It's almost dizzying, the surge of arousal that courses through him as he watches Mark's eyelids flutter shut, lips parting slightly in a silent groan.

Mark's always been the quieter one between the two of them. Donghyuck's determined to change that tonight.

"I'm going to fuck you," Donghyuck whispers, leaning down to nip lightly at Mark's jaw. "But not before I finger you open, nice and slow, until you’re begging for it." He moves up, licking at the shell of Mark’s ear, feeling the full-body shiver that runs through the body underneath him, before whispering, “And what was that you told me that first night? Something about _coming on my cock, or not at all?”_

Mark groans, hips bucking up against him. “Big talk for someone who’s still fully clothed.” 

Wordlessly, Donghyuck leans back to discard his own shirt with a lazy grin, movements unhurried, as if he’s got all the time in the world. He dips his head back down for a proper kiss, Mark’s arms winding around his shoulders to keep him in place. One of his hands comes down to caress the soft skin of Mark’s stomach, feeling him tense at the touch before moving up, thumb rolling over a nipple just as Mark’s breath hitches into his mouth. 

Donghyuck breaks away from the kiss, smile insufferably smug as Mark looks past him up at the ceiling, refusing to make eye contact. “Sensitive?” 

“Shut up— _ah,”_ Mark cuts himself off with a gasp as Donghyuck moves lower, flicking his tongue over Mark’s nipple. “God, you’re a menace. The absolute worst.”

Donghyuck lets out a sound in agreement, moving to catch the other nipple gently between his teeth. He hears Mark suck in a sharp breath, hands flying to Donghyuck’s shoulders as Mark growls out his name in warning. 

Mark’s voice sounds already absolutely wrecked, and Donghyuck hasn’t even started yet. “You’ll be singing a different tune by the end of the night, sweetheart. I can promise you that.” 

“I’d like to see you try,” Mark taunts, bringing Donghyuck’s face back up to crush their mouths together. “Shut up and grab the lube,” he commands, his other hand moving down to cup Donghyuck through his jeans. “So you can get this inside me.”

Donghyuck is more than happy to comply. 

He rolls off Mark, reaching over to rummage through his bedside drawer where he knows Mark keeps the lube and condoms. He’s been in this room enough times that he can probably get it with his eyes closed, Donghyuck muses, and he isn’t sure whether that’s a good thing or not. 

Donghyuck takes his pants off on the way back to the bed, kicking it away haphazardly, leaving him only in his boxers. Mark’s moved up the bed, and Donghyuck raises an eyebrow at the fact that he’s made no move to take his joggers off. 

Mark reaches out when Donghyuck gets a knee on the bed, tugging him down to sit up on the bed. He settles himself down on Donghyuck’s lap, grinding their clothed cocks together as he pulls Donghyuck in to make out some more. Donghyuck’s hands move down from where they were resting on Mark’s waist to slip inside the waistband of his pants, a pleasantly surprised noise escaping him as he cups Mark’s bare ass.

“Are you seriously not wearing any underwear?” Donghyuck asks, awe in his voice as he breaks away from the kiss. 

Mark blushes and looks away. “I mean—I was just at home? I don’t usually… you know? I wasn’t expecting you to come over.”

“So you just walk around commando, like, all the time?” Donghyuck squeezes and is gratified at the squeak that Mark lets out at the action. “Holy shit, I should totally drop by like this more often then.” 

Mark’s smile is wry as he replies, “Please don’t. Who knows what you’d walk into, you’re just lucky I wasn’t busy today.”

“Hm, your loss then.” 

Mark drags his pants down as Donghyuck lubes up his fingers, just far enough that it wouldn’t get in the way. His head drops down onto Donghyuck’s shoulder as the first finger nudges its way inside, a shaky exhale making its way out at the intrusion. It’s been a while for Mark, probably even longer than Donghyuck when they’d first met, and certainly not since they started doing whatever _this_ was.

“You okay?” Donghyuck murmurs, watching Mark for any signs of discomfort. “Let me know if you want to stop.” 

Mark shakes his head, pushing back against Donghyuck’s finger as he adjusts. “You’re fine. Keep going.” 

Donghyuck takes his time after he adds a second finger, pumping them in and out slowly, distracting Mark by alternating between kisses and sucking hickeys down the length of his shoulder. 

“Hyuck,” Mark pants, chest heaving by the time he looks up at Donghyuck’s face. Mark’s fingers claw into his shoulders, but he barely even registers the pain. “Another one. C’mon, please.” 

Donghyuck nods wordlessly, coming up to swallow Mark’s moan in a kiss as he slips in a third finger. It’s an easy slide in at this point, Mark being as worked up as he is. Donghyuck watches entranced, achingly hard in his own boxers, as Mark starts to fuck himself back onto his fingers. 

It doesn’t take long before Mark’s pushing his hand away, tugging at Donghyuck’s boxers to get on with it already. “Fuck, Hyuck, _off.”_

Donghyuck grins as he pushes Mark onto his back, pulling his joggers off all the way. “You get impatient when you’re needy, did you know that?” He shimmies out of his own underwear, tossing it over the edge of the bed before tearing open the foil for the condom and rolling it down his dick. He grabs the lube, jerking himself a couple times as he looks down at Mark. “It’s adorable.” 

“How are you still talking?” Mark groans, throwing his head back against the pillows. “Aren’t you supposed to be fucking me right about now?”

Donghyuck shushes him, settling in between Mark’s spread legs before leaning down to kiss him. He lines himself up against Mark’s hole, pushing in at an almost glacial pace, feeling Mark trembling slightly underneath him with every inch. Donghyuck lets out a shaky exhale when he fully bottoms out, holding himself still until Mark gives him the go-ahead to move. 

“God, you’re so fucking tight,” Donghyuck gasps. “You feel so good, Mark. How have we not done this before?” 

“It’s cause you like my dick too much, I think.” Mark’s voice is strained, but he reaches above him to brace his hands against the headboard. He tries to push himself down, hips rutting against Donghyuck’s helplessly. “C’mon, Donghyuck. Fucking _move.”_

Donghyuck doesn’t need telling twice. He pushes Mark’s legs even further back, impressed at the other boy’s flexibility, before bracing his hands against Mark’s thighs and fucking into him hard enough to rock the bed. 

Mark’s hands are white-knuckled against the headboard, biting down on his bottom lip in an attempt to keep his noises in. It takes Donghyuck a couple of experimental thrusts before he manages to find Mark’s prostate, and he knows he’s found the right angle when Mark’s eyes fly open before squeezing shut, a loud moan escaping him before he clamps down on one of his own fingers. 

Donghyuck pulls Mark’s hands away, pinning them down beside him. “No, I want to hear you,” he whispers, leaning down to suck another hickey onto Mark’s collarbone. “You and all those pretty little noises I know you can make.” 

Mark glares up at him, but can’t stop the breathless gasps that’s ripped from his throat as Donghyuck picks up the pace. It really is a sight to behold, Donghyuck thinks, watching Mark come undone under him—the way his back arches off the bed after a particularly hard thrust, the flush that starts making its way down Mark’s chest, and the way Mark starts repeating a mantra of Donghyuck’s name.

Donghyuck can feel himself getting close, can feel the coil in his gut tightening almost painfully. He leans down, lips brushing against Mark’s ear as he whispers, “Do you think you can come untouched, baby?”

“Fuck, Donghyuck—”

“Think you can do that, Mark?” Donghyuck repeats, voice dropping even lower, the sound of it going straight to Mark’s cock. “Can you come for me?”

Mark’s answering whimper is all the warning he gets before Donghyuck feels him clench around his cock, impossibly tight, ropes of come painting Mark’s stomach as he fucks him through the aftershocks. It only takes Donghyuck about half a dozen thrusts after that before he’s coming too, holding himself still as he fills the condom. 

Donghyuck takes a second to collect himself before he pulls out slowly, tossing the soiled condom over the side of the bed, too tired to bother checking if it made it into the bin. Mark looks down at the mess all over his stomach and grimaces. “Ugh, dude. Gross. Are we always this messy?” 

Donghyuck snorts, rolling over onto his side to face him. “Welcome to my life. Just be glad I didn’t finish inside of you without a condom, that kind of cleanup’s a bitch and a half.”

Mark rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything as he reaches over for some tissues to wipe themselves down with. Donghyuck watches him, boneless and sated—he feels lighter than when he first arrived, the residual stress from earlier gone. 

“Um, sorry about barging in like this,” Donghyuck says quietly. “And thanks, for y’know,” he waves his hand in a wide gesture over their still-naked bodies. “Everything.” 

“It’s all good, Hyuck,” Mark says. “And I can’t really complain, I got something out of it too? Besides, I figured you needed to get rid of the extra energy. I’ve been there before, and it’s easier than going out to pull.”

“What were you gonna do if I hadn’t shown up?” Donghyuck’s brows furrow in concern. “I didn’t interrupt anything, did I? Sorry—”

“No, no,” Mark cuts him off with a laugh. “Seriously, it wasn’t anything important.” Donghyuck watches as Mark fumbles around for his glasses. It really does suit him, the more he looks at it—gives him a sort of a boyish charm that Donghyuck doesn’t usually associate with someone like Mark. 

”I was, uh,” Mark’s grin turns sheepish. “I was just gonna marathon Lord of the Rings, actually.” He hesitates for a second before continuing, grin fading to a small smile, almost shy. “You can join me if you want, but I dunno if that’s your thing?” 

“Mark,” Donghyuck stares at him for a long while, lips twitching in an attempt to keep a straight face. He knows what he’s about to say is considered blasphemous at best, for someone like Mark. “First of all, I’m not a loser.” He ignores Mark’s indignant _‘hey!’_ in favor of continuing his assault. ”And second, I’ve never seen a single Lord of the Rings movie in my life. I can’t get through the first ten minutes of it without falling asleep.” Donghyuck shakes his head then. “Believe me, my friends have tried. And have failed. Repeatedly.”

“Wh—Hyuck!” Mark sounds so offended that Donghyuck can’t help the laugh that bubbles up in his throat. “That’s it, you’re staying,” Mark says, a serious frown on his face. “You need to get through Fellowship, at the very least.”

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow at him, propping his chin up on one hand. “You know I can just up and leave right now? There is literally nothing stopping me.” 

Mark is silent for a while, studying Donghyuck’s face with an unreadable expression on his face. He breathes in then, eyes closed, before pouncing, rolling them both over so that Donghyuck lands on his back against the mattress. Mark hovers over him, glasses slipping down his nose precariously as he looks down at Donghyuck’s wide eyes. 

“How about I make you a deal,” Mark says. 

Donghyuck blinks up at him a couple of times before he smirks. “I seriously doubt you have anything that could get me to sit through that snoozefest, but you’re welcome to try. I’m all ears.” 

“I’m going to ignore that insult for your sake,” Mark pouts. “But here’s the deal, you sit through all three movies with me—”

“Ugh—”

“—the _extended_ editions, by the way—”

“What? No—”

“—And I will owe you an orgasm for every single hour that you can sit through awake.” 

Donghyuck pauses. “I’m listening.”

“These’ll be in addition to all of our usual hookups, so like, you’re free to choose when to cash it in, I guess?”

Donghyuck raises an arched brow at him. “How many hours total?”

Mark grins. “Twelve, give or take a bit.”

Donghyuck hums.

“Yeah, okay. Deal,” he says, smiling as Mark jumps off the bed, excitedly rushing out to the living room to get his laptop. “But you’re paying for dinner!”

* * *

Mark hears a quiet sniffle and he tears his eyes away from the screen to look at the boy next to him. Donghyuck’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, face half-hidden behind a throw pillow. Donghyuck’s gaze meets his from the corner of his eye and he glares at Mark before burying his face fully into the pillow.

“Shut the fuck up, Mark.”

“Hyuck, you—”

“Sam made a promise!” Donghyuck lets out a muffled sob. “He couldn’t swim! Fuck that _Mr. Frodo_ asshole, what the fuck!”

Mark’s laugh echoes throughout the apartment, and there’s something about the sound that warms Donghyuck to the core, a fluttering in his gut that he quickly wills away. 

He’s starting to veer into dangerous territory. 

* * *

**mark**

hey!! are you free this weekend? my place?

**hyuck**

yea im down, i can do sat? want me to stay over?

**mark**

yes please, we still have the last movie to get through :)

**hyuck**

mark ur killing me here

im starting to wonder whether ur magic dick is even worth this

**mark**

but mordor!!!!!

  
  


"You should watch the Hobbit movies too."

Donghyuck looks up at Mark in incredulity, both of his legs thrown over Mark's shoulders. The angle was working so well for him before Mark stopped. He'd been _so_ close.

"Mark, are you fucking kidding me right now? Your dick is _literally_ still inside me." Donghyuck wiggles his hips down to get his point across. "Can we talk about this after? Or never, if that works better? I want to— _oh—"_

Mark braces himself over the bed, an arm wrapping around Donghyuck's waist to lift him up a little, before starting back up at a near-brutal pace. The combination of the new angle and Donghyuck's dick trapped between their bodies has him toppling over the edge in no time, Mark following inside him soon after.

They both flop down onto the bed, breathless and panting, before Donghyuck turns to Mark with a scathing glare.

"You," Donghyuck pants, "have the shittiest timing ever."

Mark just laughs and tosses the used condom into the bin, maneuvering them so that Donghyuck was laying on his chest instead. He can hear Mark's heart still thundering underneath him as Mark starts dragging his fingers through Donghyuck's hair, and that, coupled with the residual warmth from both of their bodies, has Donghyuck fighting off the urge to sleep.

"I'm just saying, once we finish the original trilogy, we could totally do the Hobbit movies," Mark says. "You'd like Smaug, I think."

There's a small voice in the back of his head telling him that he's getting a little too comfortable around Mark. The voice sounds a bit like Jeno, Donghyuck muses, so he pointedly ignores it.

Mark gently nudges him awake, Donghyuck blearily blinking the sleep from his eyes as he looks up at Mark's smiling face. "What? 'm listening, keep going." Donghyuck hides a yawn into Mark's shoulder. "If you're subjecting me to more movies, we're extending the deal. I'm still keeping count of the hours."

Donghyuck groans as Mark laughs under him, swatting a hand on his bare chest to get him to stop moving. Mark answers by moving more, dislodging Donghyuck from his comfortable position as he reaches over to his bedside table. He rummages around for a beat, before settling back down onto the bed with a small gift bag in hand.

Donghyuck props himself up on an elbow, an eyebrow raised as Mark passes the gift over to him.

"And what is this supposed to be?" Donghyuck asks.

Mark shrugs and gestures for him to open it. "Think of it as an early Christmas gift? I'm heading back home to Canada for the break, so I probably wouldn't have a chance to give this to you before then."

“Do you usually make a habit of giving gifts to people you hook up with on the regular?” Donghyuck asks with a smirk.

“Only the special ones,” Mark grins. "But really though, I won't be seeing you for a while, so," he trails off with a shrug. "Besides, you've sat through movies that you hated for me. I figured that at least makes us friends."

Friends. Is that what they were? Donghyuck’s never really put much thought into what he and Mark considered each other to be. ‘Fuckbuddies’ was never quite the right term—at least not to Donghyuck, that term was always a little too crass for him—although he supposes ‘friends with benefits’ came pretty close. 

He hadn’t realized how close Mark had gotten to him in the four (or was it five?) months since they first met. 

“Geez, Mark, way to make a guy look bad,” Donghyuck jokes, gingerly tearing open the bag. “I didn’t get you anything though—” 

He stops, taking in Mark’s gift—it’s a keychain. A small, brown stuffed bear holding a soccer ball. Donghyuck looks up at Mark with wide eyes, only to find him already staring back, a fond smile on his face as he reaches out for the trinket in Donghyuck’s hands. 

“Do you like it?” Mark asks, holding it up in front of him. “I saw it when I was shopping and immediately thought of you. Isn’t it cute?”

It is, Donghyuck thinks. It’s absolutely adorable, even by his standards. He’s almost touched that Mark would go this far out of his way for him. The fluttering in his gut is back again, a feeling that’s becoming increasingly more common the more time he spends around Mark. 

Donghyuck can’t say he hates it though. 

“I love it, Mark,” Donghyuck says softly. “Thank you.” 

He gently sets the gift back down on Mark’s bedside table, making sure it’s safe and out of the way as he throws a leg over Mark to straddle him. Mark’s leaning back against the headboard, hands coming up to his hips to keep him balanced as he leans down, pressing soft, almost tender kisses along the column of Mark’s throat. 

“I may not have an actual gift for you,” Donghyuck whispers, kissing all the way up until he meets Mark’s lips, nipping at them lightly before pulling away. “But I think I have a pretty good idea on how to make it up to you.” 

“Well,” Mark starts, eyes darkening as he rakes his eyes over Donghyuck’s naked body above him. “Then I guess it’s a good thing that we have all night.”

* * *

Donghyuck regrets his decision to stay on campus for the holiday break. He never should've taken up his friends' offer of spending Christmas together, not when he had no classes and no Mark to run away to, and especially not when said friends were being a bit too nosy for their own good.

It's how he finds himself holed up inside his apartment during Christmas Eve, waiting as the minutes tick by to midnight.

“So when are you gonna tell us who it is?” Jaemin asks.

“When am I gonna tell you who what is?” Donghyuck retorts, an eyebrow raised at the pink-haired boy in front of him.

They’re gathered around his and Renjun’s living room, Donghyuck taking up most of the space on the couch while Jeno and Jaemin are crammed into the loveseat. Renjun’s rummaging around in the kitchen, and Donghyuck hopes he comes back with something other than their shitty cheap beer.

He has a feeling he’ll be needing something stronger tonight.

“Don’t play coy,” Jaemin smirks. “It feels like we’ve barely seen you since the semester started, Hyuck. It’s like you never go out anymore?”

"I go out plenty, Jaem," Donghyuck scoffs. "I just don't go out with _you."_

"Oof, Hyuckie, that hurts," Jaemin slumps against Jeno, clutching his shirt over his heart as he feigns distress. "I miss the old Donghyuck, the fun one that we used to have to babysit at parties."

Donghyuck aims a pillow at Jaemin's pretty face, missing by an inch as Jeno pushes him away with a soft laugh. He's thankfully saved from Jaemin's retaliation as Renjun comes back into the room, a half-finished bottle of Jack in hand.

"He's not wrong though," Renjun says, jumping right into the fray. "You haven't been bringing anyone home recently either. It's been ages since the last time you sexiled me." He takes a quick swig of the bottle before passing it down to Donghyuck's outstretched hand. "Not that I'm complaining, of course. The walls are thinner than you think they are."

"Can we please not talk about this?" Donghyuck can feel his cheeks heating up at the fact that his sex life is apparently up for debate tonight. "I can _promise_ you that I'm not dating anyone."

Renjun looks at him like he doesn't believe him. "Fine, not dating, but there _is_ someone, right? I've seen the hickeys, Hyuck. You ain't slick."

"Finally! Someone else noticed," Jeno laughs out. He shrugs when Donghyuck turns his glare over to him. "Sorry, Hyuck, but the cat's out of the bag. I told you that you should’ve been more careful about the marks."

"Wait, Jeno _knew?"_ Jaemin says, betrayal in his voice. "Who is it?"

"Jeno doesn't know who it is," Donghyuck grumbles. "And I'm not about to tell you guys either." He lets out a sigh of defeat, knowing they won't stop until he gives them _something,_ at least. "It's no one, really, we barely know each other—"

His phone buzzes in his pocket.

"—And he and I both agreed we wouldn't tell anyone, so it wouldn't be fair if I told you."

Donghyuck reaches for his phone, looking down at the screen to hide from his friends' prying eyes. "Besides," he adds, keeping his tone light. He unlocks his phone, opening the unread message.

_'i know it's early bc of the time difference but merry christmas, hyuck!! hope you have a good one haha :)'_

"We both know it doesn't mean anything."

Donghyuck bites back a smile and tries to stifle the ache in his chest, shooting off a quick text in reply.

 _'you're right on time._ _merry christmas mark, see you soon ^^'_

He doesn’t miss the questioning look that Renjun throws his way when he looks back up, shaking his head minutely before pocketing his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dhyuckiees) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/dhyuckIees)
> 
> i'm so sorry for the lack of a real plot sdjsfh the second chapter should be coming soon, hopefully ^^ but i'd love to hear what you guys think so far!


	2. winter semester

The next time he sees Mark after the break is a week into the new semester. Mark had invited him over to his apartment for a quick session before his afternoon classes, and Donghyuck had all but jumped at the chance.

Mark had wasted no time backing him up against the door as soon as he arrived, kissing Donghyuck without so much as a hello. Donghyuck smiles into the kiss, arms locking around Mark’s neck to pull him flush against his body. Mark's hands hook underneath Donghyuck's thighs, lifting him up to trap him between his body and the door. Donghyuck lets out a surprised gasp at the sudden motion, instinctively wraps his legs around Mark's waist and scrambling to grasp at his shoulders to balance himself.

"Eager, much?" Donghyuck teases, voice a little breathless as he looks down as Mark. "A little warning would've been nice."

Mark laughs as he hikes Donghyuck up a little higher, head moving down so he can mouth along the length of Donghyuck's neck, biting down at his pulse point like he knows Donghyuck likes. "It's been a while, you can't really blame me for being excited."

Donghyuck lets out an appreciative hum that turns into a moan as Mark presses their hips closer together, evidence of how excited Mark actually is pressing up against his ass. He lets his head rest back against the door, looking down at Mark with half-lidded eyes as he entertains a thought. "Hey, Mark?"

Mark lets out a sound to let him know he's listening, too busy sucking a pattern of bruises across Donghyuck's collarbone for a proper response.

"Do you think you can fuck me like this?"

That makes Mark pause. He looks up at Donghyuck's contemplative expression with a crooked smile on his face. "What, like against the wall?" Mark asks. Donghyuck nods. "Honestly, probably not."

Donghyuck pouts. "That's disappointing." He pauses for a beat, thinking about Mark's thighs, and what it'd feel like wrapped around him instead. And then, "Would you let  _ me  _ fuck you like this?"

Mark moves a hand up from his thigh to pinch his ass, eliciting a pained yelp and making Donghyuck squirm in his arms. "I'm not about to risk injuring either of us just to satisfy your wall sex fantasies, Hyuck.” He pauses then, as if considering it. “At least, not until the season’s done."

"Well, it was worth a shot." Donghyuck leans down to capture Mark's lips in a kiss, a sweet little thing, before he moves to whisper into Mark's ear, voice lowering in anticipation. "Now, take me to bed, Mark."

* * *

They’d only been separated for less than a month, and Donghyuck couldn’t believe how much he’d missed this. 

Donghyuck's head falls back against Mark's shoulder, one of Mark's arms wrapped around his waist to hold him up against his chest as he fucks into him. It's so good, even better because of how long it's been, and he knows Mark's getting close from the way he's losing his rhythm, hips snapping erratically as his grip around Donghyuck tightens.

He wonders whether he should consider it good luck or bad luck then, that Mark's phone starts ringing just as Mark finishes inside of him—a FaceTime notification from his mother blinking back at them like a bad omen.

They try to ignore it, Mark reaching around to sloppily fist Donghyuck to completion, but the ringing continues. They end up rushing to make Mark look presentable, Donghyuck pulling him in by the shirt to fix his hair with a hissed, “Mark, you  _ literally _ have sex hair, oh my god come here—” 

Donghyuck hastily grabs what he thinks are his clothes from the floor and leaves the room just as Mark answers the call, angling his phone away from the door and greeting his mom with a wave of the hand.

He dithers around the living room after putting on his pants, realizing that he’d picked up the wrong shirt again. Instead of leaving like he'd initially intended to, Donghyuck makes his way into the kitchen, hoping to scrounge together enough ingredients to make a proper lunch. 

He’s never really used Mark’s kitchen before, but he knows Mark wouldn’t mind. Donghyuck opens the fridge and frowns at how bare it is. He makes a mental note to take Mark out to buy proper groceries before taking the carton of eggs out of the fridge.

He's about halfway done making omelettes for the both of them when Mark walks out of his room, pausing at the sight of Donghyuck standing shirtless by the stove.

"You're still here," Mark says, an odd tone to his voice.

"Yep," Donghyuck says, not bothering to look up from the pan. "Grabbed the wrong shirt again so I think mine's still somewhere on your floor." He rummages around the cabinets for plates, setting one down onto the counter. "Lunch?"

"What?" Mark asks, wide eyes blinking back at Donghyuck, almost as if he’s not believing what he’s seeing.

"Omelettes," Donghyuck points out, looking back to raise an eyebrow at Mark. "It's nothing much, but dude, do you even realize that your fridge is almost totally empty?" He moves to plate the eggs, Mark moving to lean against the counter as he watches him work. "Like, what do you even eat?"

"I don't cook that often, actually," Mark answers, grin sheepish as Donghyuck slides the plate in between them. He murmurs a quiet thanks for the food before continuing, "I can cook like, really, really basic stuff, but it's usually either take out or my brother dropping stuff off on the weekends."

Donghyuck pauses, fork halfway to his mouth. "You have a brother?"

Mark hums, nodding in response. "Older brother, yeah. He's a grad student here, actually. But he lives with his boyfriend downtown instead of near campus. It's why I live alone, he moved out earlier this year."

"Huh," Donghyuck says, offering Mark a bite on his fork. "I dunno why, but I had you pegged down as an only child."

Mark smiles wryly at the comment before accepting the bite. "Y'know, somehow? I get that a lot."

"I wonder why," Donghyuck snorts. "How's your mom?"

Mark hesitates for a second before answering the question. "She's fine," he says, fidgeting a little where he stands. "She uh, thinks I'm seeing someone though."

Donghyuck's heart stops dead in his chest. "Oh?"

"She could tell someone else was home," Mark says, frowning. "Demanded that I finally introduce her to the girlfriend."

"What—" Donghyuck swallows. "What did you say?"

"I told her that I didn't have a girlfriend."

"... And?"

Mark sighs. "So then she said she wanted to meet my boyfriend."

Now,  _ that's _ an entirely different situation altogether. "Well... what did you say to that?"

Mark’s head drops back against the cabinets with a dull  _ thump. _ "I, uh, didn't? Really? Say anything," he murmurs, looking over at Donghyuck from the corner of his eye. "I kind of hung up on her? By accident, I swear."

"Mark."

"I know!" Mark winces. "I know. I panicked, okay? I'm sorry, Hyuck."

"Damn right, you did—wait, why are you sorry?" Donghyuck asks, bewildered. "Why are you saying sorry to  _ me?" _

Mark looks at him, a troubled expression on his face. "I know you're not my boyfriend, but I didn't deny it," he says. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable since she'll probably call again."

"How'd she even know I was here? What made her assume you were even in a relationship in the first place?"

Mark levels him with a pointed look. "You know how you left your clothes on the floor? She must've seen them or something, because that, coupled with these—" Mark pulls on the collar of his shirt, emphasizing the array of marks trailing down the side of his neck. Some of the older bruises have already faded, but others—the ones that Donghyuck had put there less than thirty minutes ago—are only starting to bloom a bright red.

Mark shrugs, fixing his shirt. "She probably put two and two together. Or maybe it's just her mom-senses tipping her off, who the fuck knows."

Well, shit, Donghyuck frowns. This was technically his fault then. "Can't you just deny it?"

Mark shakes his head. "No, she'll probably see right through me," he says, sighing. Then, he pouts. "I told you to lay off above the collar, Hyuck." His hand moves to pinch Donghyuck's cheek, pulling to distort the frown on his face. "But it's fine, I'll figure something out."

"Still, I'm sorry," Donghyuck says, properly admonished. He rubs a little at his aching cheek. "Is there anything I can do? Like, did you want me to talk to her?"

Mark raises an eyebrow at that. "You'd do that? What would you even say?"

Donghyuck doesn't quite know how to answer that question. He's not about to introduce himself to Mark's mother as one of her son's fuckbuddies, after all. Even then, he's not quite sure that's just what they are anymore—not since Christmas, anyway.

He isn't proud of the hours of sleep he's lost to thinking about Mark while lying in bed, the little bear keychain dangling from his fingers. They've never talked about it, but while Donghyuck hasn't been with anyone else since they started whatever this was, there wasn’t really anything stopping Mark from sleeping with other people. 

Donghyuck doesn’t usually let himself continue that train of thought—it makes his stomach churn more than he’d like to admit. 

He opens his mouth, ready to come up with some bullshit excuse, when the phone on the counter starts ringing. They share a quick, panicked look before he nods, gesturing for Mark to pick up the call.

Mark holds the camera up so that Donghyuck's off-screen. "Mom—"

"Mark Lee, how  _ dare _ you hang up on me."

They both wince at the reprimand, and Mrs. Lee cuts Mark off before he could stutter through a proper apology.

"I know they're there, Mark, you’re a terrible liar."  _ Damn,  _ Donghyuck thinks. _ Mrs. Lee is scary. _ "Put them on the screen."

And maybe it's the spike of terrified adrenaline that shoots through him at the sound of Mrs. Lee's voice, or maybe it's because of the tremor he hears in Mark's voice—but the next thing Donghyuck knows, he's stepping into frame, interrupting Mark's remorseful answer of "Wait, I can explain—" with a voice more confident than he feels.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lee. Apologies for Mark's earlier behavior. My name is Donghyuck, and I'm dating your son."

A handful of seconds pass in awkward silence, both Mark and Mrs. Lee seemingly stunned speechless at Donghyuck's sudden declaration. Donghyuck feels himself break out into a cold sweat, regret instantly flooding him as he looks into the camera. He’d always known his lack of a filter would be the end of him one day—he just didn’t think it’d be at the hands of his not-boyfriend’s mother. 

Luckily for him Mark recovers quickly, an arm winding around Donghyuck’s waist in a show of support. “Sorry for not telling you, mom. It’s kind of a new thing? And I didn’t want to scare him off too early,” he says with a laugh, voice steadier than what Donghyuck was expecting. 

Mark’s a better actor than he gave him credit for. 

There’s a terrifying few beats of silence while Mrs. Lee seems to process the new information, her eyes darting back and forth between Donghyuck and Mark’s hand around his waist before finally breaking out into a wide smile. 

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, my dear,” she says, turning her full attention onto Donghyuck. “I’d love to hear all about the guy that had my son glued to his phone the entire time he was here.”

Donghyuck raises an amused eyebrow in Mark’s direction, who could only pout at being exposed in front of his supposed “boyfriend”. 

The rest of the call goes smoothly enough, Donghyuck and Mark’s mother apparently finding common ground in teasing Mark until he was red in the face, head buried into Donghyuck’s shoulder in a show of embarrassment. Fortunately for them, the call doesn’t last very long either, as Mark’s mom had to leave for some errands, but not before making both of the boys promise to ring her up again soon—emphasis on the  _ both _ of them. 

They breathe a collective sigh of relief once the call ends, before Mark turns to Donghyuck with an incredulous look in his eyes. Donghyuck can only look back at him sheepishly, one shoulder raised to shrug in feigned nonchalance. 

"At least now she won't be bugging you about it anymore?" Donghyuck says. "Think about it this way, you can always just tell her we broke up when you find someone you want to date for real. It’s no big deal."

Mark's face shutters into a strange expression at that last bit, and Donghyuck thinks he may have said the wrong thing. But then he leans over to kiss Donghyuck's temple, a teasing smile in place when he pulls away. 

"Yeah," Mark says. "We both know it’s just a lie anyway. It doesn’t have to change anything. Thanks, Donghyuck." 

Donghyuck isn’t expecting the twinge in his chest at the way Mark had said those words, but he powers through it anyway with a tight smile of his own. 

* * *

**hyuck**

good luck on the game today

**mark**

thanks hyuck :)

**hyuck**

i just wanted u to know

that i spent an entire HOUR googling lax rules for ur pasty ass last night

so put on a good show for me, yeah?

It's a sunny afternoon in February when Donghyuck decides to watch one of Mark's games.

He'd waited until right before it started to send that last message, with the idea that Mark would be distracted, looking around the crowd to see if Donghyuck would actually show up. They've never really attended each other's games before, but he was curious to see Mark in action—he’d always wanted to see what Mark would be like in his element.

Donghyuck arrives just before the starting whistle, squeezing into the bleachers on their side of the field. He sees their school's uniformed players scattered all over, warming up with stretches and practice drills. Donghyuck scans each player for the  _ '02' _ he knows is embossed onto Mark's dark blue jersey.

He finds Mark surrounded by a few teammates, and Donghyuck even recognizes one of the players as Lucas, one of the guys from his econ class from sophomore year. They’re all huddled around the clipboard in Mark’s hands, faces turned towards Mark in rapt attention as he talks. 

Eventually, the group breaks, and Mark turns his attention towards the stands one more time, crosse stick and helmet in hand. His face lights up in a bright smile as soon as he spots Donghyuck a couple rows up, raising his crosse a little and waving it in his direction. Donghyuck can’t help but to return the smile, tossing him two thumbs up, and mouthing a small  _ “Good luck!” _ that he hopes Mark could see from afar.

He can tell that Mark got the message when he nods before putting on his helmet, waving one last time before jogging back to the rest of the team. 

The game starts and Donghyuck can’t keep his eyes off of Mark long enough to focus on the actual play.

It's like he's a completely different person on the field, he muses, watching as Mark receives a pass and tears down the field, light on his feet. An opposing player tries to slash at Mark's stick to try and get him to drop the ball, but Mark just pushes back, landing a clean hit on the guy that sends him toppling down into the grass.

He hadn’t realized that lacrosse was such an aggressive sport. And later on, as Donghyuck watches Mark body check another player down by the opponent’s net, he hates the fact that he also finds it kind of hot. 

Their team wins 12-11 in the last few minutes, and Mark gets lost in a dogpile after scoring the winning goal. Donghyuck bites back a smile, fingers tapping out a quick text to send to Mark's phone for when he gets back to the dressing room. 

It's a short message but he knows Mark will understand.

_ 'Wait for me.' _

* * *

Donghyuck bides his time, stalling until long after the crowd disperses after the game and the team has gone back inside. He's well-acquainted with how long debriefs usually take, and how long it usually takes teams to shower and file out after a good game.

He makes his way down to the dressing rooms, and lets out a pleased smile when he finds it completely empty. There's not a soul in sight, but Mark's bag is still in his stall, so he's probably still around.

Donghyuck doubles checks, makes sure there's nothing else in any of the other stalls, before heading over to the showers. He hears the water running near the far end of the room, and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that it's Mark. 

The sight that greets him as he rounds the corner is even better than he could have anticipated. Mark's back is turned towards Donghyuck as he stands under the shower, head tipped back, the water cascading over his shoulders and running in rivulets down his back. 

Donghyuck’s mouth goes dry as he takes a second to just take Mark in, standing motionless before he makes his presence known. He knows Mark’s attractive—that’s just a fact at this point, anyone with eyes can see it—but rarely does he get a chance to just stop and  _ see.  _

“Are you going to say something, or were you just gonna pretend I couldn’t feel your eyes on my ass this whole time?”

“I mean, it  _ is _ a nice ass, even by my standards. Ten out of ten would stare again,” Donghyuck says, smirking as Mark turns around to level him with an unimpressed stare. “Good game today, Captain. You were great out there.” 

“I was on my best behaviour today,” Mark says, the corner of his lips quirking up at Donghyuck’s antics. “Had an audience to impress after all. There was no way we weren’t gonna win.”

Donghyuck hums, finally kicking off the wall opposite of the showers, moving to stand right in front of Mark’s stall. He’s still fully clothed as he rakes his eyes slowly over Mark’s naked body in front of him, and when he reaches Mark’s face, Mark meets his interested gaze with a raised eyebrow, completely unfazed. 

“Good to know you got my message then,” Donghyuck says. 

Mark smirks. “Which one? The one before, or after?”

“Both,” Donghyuck grins, and reaches back to take a condom and a packet of lube out from his back pocket, holding it up between two fingers for Mark to see. “But speaking of after, I’m here to cash in what you owe me for all those dumb movies.” 

Mark probably wasn’t expecting him to be fully prepared, surprise flashing on his face before he settles into an exasperated smile. “Here?  _ Now?” _ He huffs a small laugh as Donghyuck starts stripping to join him under the spray. “Really, Hyuck?” 

Donghyuck grins like  _ he _ was the one who won the game. “Yep.” 

He pushes Mark back against the cold tile of the wall, feeling him shiver at the sharp contrast from the warmth of the water he was just under. Donghyuck steps under the spray himself, getting his hair wet and slicking it back before he siddles up to Mark, pressing their bodies flush together as he leans in closer. “And besides,” he whispers, lips brushing against Mark’s with every word. “Game winners deserve a prize too, don’t you think?”

Instead of answering, Mark closes the distance between them with a kiss, hands coming up to Donghyuck’s hips to flip them around so that Donghyuck was pressed up against the wall instead. He pulls back after they’re both breathless and panting, but not before leaving one last peck to Donghyuck’s lips. 

“Hands on the wall,” Mark orders, guiding Donghyuck into position with a hand on the small of his back. He leans down to press a kiss to Donghyuck’s shoulder when he follows without complaint. “Good boy.”

Donghyuck bends further down and arches his back, pushing his ass back against Mark’s hardening cock impatiently. “Just hurry up and get on with it. I’ve been waiting for you to fuck me since the beginning of the game.” 

He jumps when Mark’s hand lands on his ass in a light slap, the sound echoing in the nearly empty space. “Liked what you saw then?” Mark teases. Donghyuck lets out a small groan at the smugness in Mark’s voice, shivering at the residual sting from the slap as Mark’s hand traces over the reddening skin.

“Shut up, asshole,” Donghyuck rasps. “So you looked hot while taking someone down, or whatever.” Mark starts trailing open-mouthed kisses up his back, and Donghyuck can’t help the breathy moan that leaves him when Mark bites down on his shoulder particularly hard. “You know I like it when you’re rough, you should’ve expected this.” 

“Mm,” Mark agrees, tone light as he lands another slap to Donghyuck’s ass, smiling as Donghyuck whines at the pain. “I know.” 

Mark spreads Donghyuck’s legs further apart, his hand sliding down Donghyuck’s back, slick from the water, traveling lower and lower before he reaches for the lube in Donghyuck’s hands. He tears the packet open and lets it drip down liberally onto Donghyuck’s ass, spreading it messily as his fingers circle his rim. 

Donghyuck lets out a shaky exhale as the first finger slips inside, head dropping down between his shoulders as he pushes back instinctively, and Mark’s eyes widen when he’s met with minimal resistance. “Did you—Hyuck, did you  _ plan _ this from the start?” 

“I fingered myself just before the game, yeah,” Donghyuck confirms, voice weak as Mark slips in another finger, scissoring them to make sure he’s properly stretched. “Whether you won or lost, it didn’t matter. I was gonna get you to fuck me either way.” 

“You’re unbelievable, you know that?” 

Donghyuck looks back, eyes half-lidded as he smiles back at Mark, all sin and nothing else. “It’s all part of the charm, baby.”

They make quick work of prepping him, and soon enough, Mark has three fingers sliding in and out of Donghyuck’s ass, Mark’s other hand working his cock as his moans fill the room. Donghyuck knows his back is probably covered in marks, can tell from the way Mark’s mouth had trailed down his spine, but he finds that he doesn’t mind it. Not at all.

“I’m ready,” Donghyuck gasps, body shaking as Mark’s fingertips brush against his prostate. “Mark, c’mon, I’m ready.”

He feels Mark tap his shoulder, a sign for him to hand over the condom, and it doesn’t take long before he feels the blunt head of Mark’s cock pressing up against his hole. Mark’s hand comes up to cup his jaw, turning his head to pull him in for a filthy kiss, swallowing Donghyuck’s moan as he slides inside with one quick thrust. 

It still catches him off-guard sometimes, how good they are together. It’s like Mark knows his body better than even he does, knows exactly where to touch and how to fuck him in a way that drives Donghyuck crazy—it’s so fucking good that sometimes, Donghyuck’s a little afraid that he’s been ruined for sex with anyone else. 

Mark sets a steady rhythm, fucking Donghyuck with long, deep strokes that has him clawing at the slippery tiles. He knows he’s being loud—and he probably shouldn’t be, considering this isn’t exactly a private space—but he knows Mark likes it, gets off to hearing how good Donghyuck feels when he’s taking it. 

Mark pulls Donghyuck back by the elbows, drawing his body away from the wall and using his arms as leverage when he picks up the pace. “That’s it,” he whispers. “You’re doing so well—” 

“Mark! Cap, you still in here?”

The sound of Lucas’ voice reverberating in from the dressing room makes them both freeze.

“Yeah?” Mark calls back, his hand coming up to cover Donghyuck’s mouth as he starts moving again, quick, shallow thrusts that have his eyes darkening at the muffled noises escaping from under his hand. 

“The guys are going out for drinks at the Rec Room, you down?” 

He pulls Donghyuck up flush against his chest, the new angle letting Mark hit his prostate with the next thrust, and Donghyuck’s muffled whine is overshadowed by the sound of the running water. “Yeah, I’ll catch up with you guys in a sec!” Mark yells back. “Go on ahead!” 

“Cool! I’ll see you there!” Lucas replies.

They give it a second before hearing the door to the locker room slams shut, before Mark drops his hand from Donghyuck’s face, moving down to grip at his hips as he fucks into him harder, faster. Donghyuck still tries his best to keep quiet though, the fear of being caught still running through his veins. His own hands move to jerk himself off in time with Mark’s thrusts, unable to hold in the gasps of Mark’s name that fall from his lips as he lets go, come splattering against the wall as his legs threaten to give out from under him. 

Mark pulls out of him then, mindful of the oversensitivity, and he turns Donghyuck around to pull him in for a languid kiss, pressing him back against the wall for support. Donghyuck pulls the condom off and finishes Mark off in slow, tight-gripped strokes, letting him spill over his stomach and hands with a low groan. 

They stay like that for a while, just exchanging slow, lazy kisses against the wall before cleaning up, all traces of what they’d just done washing away with the water. 

“Who would’ve thought you had it in you,” Donghyuck says, voice hoarse. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you, Mark Lee?”

“What can I say,” Mark replies, his smile terribly fond as he looks down at Donghyuck’s twinkling eyes. He leans down to steal one last chaste kiss. “You’re a terrible influence.” 

* * *

“Mark?” Donghyuck calls out, stepping out of Mark’s bathroom, his sweatpants slung low on his hips and a towel over his head as he dries his hair. “D’you mind if I borrowed a shirt? You tore off a couple of buttons on mine when you—” 

He stops, blinking at the unfamiliar face staring back at him. “You’re not Mark.”

The stranger is standing in Mark’s living room, a paper bag in one hand and his phone in the other. He studies Donghyuck’s face for a second, before his lips quirk up in a wry smile. “Nope. Definitely not,” he says. “I didn’t realize Mark had company though, is he home?” 

“Uh, yeah…” Donghyuck tilts his head as he looks over the man in front of him. “Mark!” he calls out louder. “There’s a really pretty stranger in your living room here to see you!”

Donghyuck’s voice has Mark’s head peeking out of his bedroom. “What? Who—” Mark cuts himself off, eyes widening as the stranger turns his attention over to him instead. “Oh, shit.”

_ “‘Oh, shit’ _ is right. Mark, I texted you that I was coming over like, an hour ago?”

“Sorry,” Mark answers weakly. “I was… busy?”

“Clearly.” The stranger’s expression is unimpressed, a single eyebrow raised in judgment. “You knew I was coming over today to drop these off.” He lifts the paper bag a little higher to make his point. 

Mark winces, even shrinks a little back into his room. “Sorry, ‘Yong. I kind of, uh, forgot? That it was today.” 

Donghyuck watches the awkward exchange, hiding an amused smile behind his towel. He has a pretty good idea of who this person is, but it was fun watching Mark be put on the hot seat for once, so he keeps quiet.

Plus, as far as first impressions went, meeting Mark’s brother while half-naked isn’t the worst thing he’s ever done. Not by a longshot.

“It’s fine,” Taeyong sighs, before shaking his head. His eyes dart back and forth between Mark and Donghyuck, a smirk growing on his face as he takes in Mark’s quickly reddening cheeks. “Well, I’d hate to interrupt.” He turns to Donghyuck, grinning. “I’m gonna head out. It’s nice to meet you…?”

“Donghyuck. Lee Donghyuck.”

“Wait,” Taeyong blinks in apparent shock. “So  _ you’re _ the guy pretending to be Mark’s boyfriend for our mom?” 

“Uh, yeah?” Donghyuck throws a confused glance over to Mark. “Yeah, I am?”

“Alrighty!” Mark exclaims nervously, finally stepping out of his room to usher Taeyong back to the front door. “Well, I’m gonna walk my brother out,” he says, before turning to Donghyuck. “Feel free to grab a shirt from my closet, Hyuck. I’ll be back in a sec.”

“O...kay?” Donghyuck turns to Taeyong, who’s sporting a shit-eating grin as he continues looking between the two of them. “It was nice to meet you too, I guess?” 

Any reply Taeyong might have had is cut-off as Mark pushes him further down the hallway. Donghyuck takes a second to question Mark’s odd behaviour before he shakes his head in exasperation, heading into Mark’s bedroom to find a shirt so he could leave. 

Mark comes back a couple minutes later, cheeks still a little red as he apologizes for his brother. “Sorry about that, Hyuck. I honestly forgot that he was coming over.” 

“It’s fine,” Donghyuck says with a shrug. He winks up at Mark. “Besides, that just means I did a good enough job  _ distracting  _ you with my dick, so I’ll take it as a compliment.” 

“Shut up.”

Donghyuck hums, as he grabs his stuff, getting ready to leave. “So he knows about us then?”

“Uh, kinda?” Mark answers. “He knew about the call and that you were my friend, but he didn’t know about—well, everything else? At least, not until now.” Mark frowns, biting his lip in worry. “Sorry about that, does it make you uncomfortable? I know we said we weren’t gonna tell anyone about all of...“ he gestures vaguely between the two of them. “This.” 

“Hey, hey,” Donghyuck’s hand comes up to cup Mark’s cheek in reassurance, the other’s expression bordering on absolutely miserable. “It’s fine, it doesn’t bother me. Honest.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Donghyuck drops his bag, both hands coming up to frame Mark’s face properly, angling his face to look him in the eye. Mark’s hands instinctively come up to rest on his hips, and he can feel the warmth radiating from his palms through the thin material of Mark’s shirt. 

“I like… whatever this is,” Donghyuck whispers, a little bit of his own uncertainty peeking through his voice. “I don’t want it to stop if you don’t want us to.”

“Then we won’t,” Mark whispers back, before dipping his head down to capture Donghyuck’s lips in a chaste kiss. “I’ll see you next week then?”

Donghyuck nods against him, before pulling away and picking up his bag. “Next week it is,” he says, pausing by the door to Mark’s bedroom. He hesitates for a second, before deciding against it. “See you around, Mark.”

He lets out a shaky breath once he exits the apartment. The ache in his chest is back, and he’d very nearly asked Mark if he could stay.

It’s getting harder and harder to leave when he should, Donghyuck realizes, and that’s never a good sign. 

* * *

Donghyuck taps his foot impatiently, staring at the still-closed door to Mark's apartment. He'd rung the doorbell almost five minutes ago, and had even sent Mark a couple texts letting him know that he was there, but still, no answer.

He gives in with a sigh, taking his phone out of his pocket to dial Mark's number. The line rings, and rings, and rings. Still no answer. Donghyuck frowns, looking down at his screen as he hits the call button one more time.

Mark had texted him earlier on in the day to come over after dinner. He's getting worried though, Mark isn't usually the type to bail without letting him know—at least not without a text to give him a heads up about what was going on.

His call finally goes through, and he hears Mark's voice, rough and scratchy, answer the phone with, "Hello?" 

Donghyuck's frown deepens at how out of it Mark sounds. "Mark, it's me. Dude, I've  _ been  _ outside."

He hears another murmured "What?" and an "Oh,  _ fuck—" _ before he hears the sound of Mark scrambling on the other side. The door opens a few seconds later, revealing a thoroughly disheveled Mark Lee, face apologetic as he looks up at Donghyuck's unimpressed expression.

"Hyuck—" Mark starts. "God, I'm so,  _ so _ sorry, I must've passed the fuck out after the game and lost track of time—"

Donghyuck's brows furrow in concern as he takes Mark's appearance in. He's dressed in sweats again, very obviously having just woken up from a nap. There are bags under his eyes that weren't there the last time he'd seen Mark, and he's leaning heavily against the doorframe, holding himself unnaturally still.

"Mark," Donghyuck cuts him off, hand reaching out to him. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

Mark winces when he moves to take a step back to avoid Donghyuck's hand, the sudden action making him seize up in apparent pain.

"You're injured?" Donghyuck asks, unconcealed worry lacing his voice. "What the hell happened to you?"

Mark sighs, before moving an arm to gently cover his left side. "One of the assholes from the other team decided it'd be a good idea to test out his cross-checking skills. Got me right in the ribs and took me out for the rest of the game."

"Fracture?"

Mark shakes his head. "No, just bruising, luckily. But it’s bad enough that I’m out for the next couple of weeks." He looks back up into Donghyuck's eyes, remorse clear on his face. "I really didn't mean to keep you waiting. I took a couple of painkillers and I guess they knocked me out cold. I'm sorry, Donghyuck. It sucks that you came all the way over for nothing."

Donghyuck shushes him with a shake of the head. "Don't apologize, you dork. It's not your fault." He looks down at his watch. 8:02 pm. "Mark, have you been asleep this whole time? Have you even eaten dinner yet?"

Mark's silence is all the answer he needs before he gently ushers Mark back inside. He follows him into the living room, and he can see Mark's uncertainty painted clearly on his face. "Hyuck, you don't have to stay—"

"Mark," Donghyuck interrupts. "Shut up and let me take care of you. You've mentioned it before, right? We're friends. I want to help."

Mark studies his face for a few seconds before he nods, giving Donghyuck a small, grateful smile. Donghyuck returns the smile with one of his own as he reaches out to take one of Mark's hands, squeezing it in reassurance.

"Go take another nap, and I'll make us dinner." Mark opens his mouth to protest again but Donghyuck cuts him off. "No buts, get your ass to bed. The sooner you get better, the sooner you can make this up to me."

That manages to startle a soft laugh from Mark, but he can't hide the pained grimace that follows at the action. "Ugh, don't make me laugh, Hyuck. Please," he says. "But alright. Wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

"I won't," Donghyuck retorts. "I know my way around your kitchen, Mark, it’ll be fine. Now go on, get some sleep before I drag you in there myself." 

Mark raises his hands in surrender before slowly making his way back into his bedroom. Once the door closes behind him, Donghyuck takes a second for himself, letting out a long exhale. He wonders how many lines he's going to be crossing tonight.

He breathes in one last time, and gets to work.

* * *

“Mark?” Donghyuck whispers, opening the door to Mark’s bedroom an hour later. It’s dark, and Donghyuck can just barely make out a lump on the bed that he assumes is Mark’s sleeping form. “Are you awake? I’m coming in, okay?”

The lump shuffles for a bit, before Mark’s head pokes out from underneath the blankets. He squints up at Donghyuck’s figure by the door, silhouetted by the light from the living room. “Hyuck?” Mark mumbles, voice raspy from his nap. “How long was I out for?”

“Just a little under an hour,” Donghyuck answers, closing the door behind him and moving to sit on the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?” 

“Still sore, but better,” Mark says, bracing his side as he reaches over to his bedside table to grab his glasses. “I had a headache earlier too, but it’s gone now.” 

Donghyuck hums, a hand coming up to brush Mark’s bedhead down in an attempt to tame it. “Told you the nap was a good idea,” he quips. “Did you wanna eat in here? Or did you want to eat in the living room? The food’s ready.” 

Mark smiles up at him, all sleepy and cute, and Donghyuck’s heart flutters in his chest at the sight. “Here’s fine,” Mark says. “Join me? We could put on a movie or something while we eat.”

Donghyuck’s hand moves down to caress the side of Mark’s face, thumb stroking over his cheek before he snaps out of it, tugging at Mark’s ear playfully before getting up.

“Fine, but I’m vetoing anything involving Middle Earth,” Donghyuck says, back turned to Mark as he makes to leave the room. He hopes that Mark didn’t see the beginnings of a blush blooming high on his cheeks at getting carried away. It was too close, his touch a tad bit too tender to be considered just friendly. 

He blames it on that damned smile. That, coupled with Mark’s big, sparkly eyes? Donghyuck needed to get away before he did something stupid. 

After dinner—and despite Donghyuck’s earlier protests—he somehow manages to find himself sitting up against the headboard as the first Hobbit movie plays on Mark’s laptop in front of them. Mark is laying down on his good side, head in Donghyuck’s lap as Donghyuck keeps a hand on the ice pack against his bruised ribs. His other hand comes up to start petting at Mark’s hair, fingers running gently through the strands.

It’s nice, Donghyuck thinks, just  _ being _ with Mark. He doesn’t remember the last time they just hung out without the pretense of having sex later on in the night. 

“So, you mean to tell me that they managed to drag out one book—one!—into another goddamn trilogy?” he asks, a whine in his voice.  _ “Why? _ Haven’t we suffered enough?”

He jumps when Mark pinches his thigh in retaliation, but is quick to apologize when he hears Mark let out a pained grunt at the sudden movement. 

“How are you even complaining?” Mark mumbles into Donghyuck’s thigh. “I thought you liked Martin Freeman.”

“I mean, I  _ do,” _ he says. “But not as a hobbit.” Donghyuck’s hand continues its ministrations in his hair, looking down to see Mark’s eyes flutter sleepily at the motion. He frowns a little in concern, considering the fact that Mark just had a nap less than an hour ago. 

Donghyuck tears his eyes away from Mark and the movie to look around the room—Mark’s discarded lacrosse bag by the foot of his bed, a box of supplies for the outreach that he remembers Mark picking up from their apartment, and his MCAT workbooks piled high atop what Donghyuck thinks used to be Mark’s study table. 

_ He must still be so tired,  _ Donghyuck thinks. _ And then to add an injury on top of everything. Oh, Mark. _

It only takes a few more minutes of Donghyuck petting his hair before Mark falls properly asleep, his breathing even, dark eyelashes fanning across his cheeks. He repositions the ice pack, careful not to disturb his sleep, and he uses his other hand to set an alarm on his phone for after the movie ends, just in case he falls asleep too.

His legs are already starting to feel numb and he knows that his back’s going to hurt like a bitch when he wakes up tomorrow, but he figures he can stand to put up with a few more hours of The Hobbit if it meant that Mark could catch up on some well-deserved rest. 

(And if his heart starts beating a bit faster whenever he looks down at Mark’s peacefully sleeping face, well—he’ll just keep that little secret all to himself.) 

* * *

Donghyuck hasn’t seen Mark in  _ weeks. _

It only takes a couple of days after his last visit to Mark’s apartment for Donghyuck to make the unfortunate realization that Mark being too injured to play lacrosse also meant that he was too injured to have sex—or at least, too injured for anything more than an unsatisfying handjob or blowjob. 

This naturally meant that there was no reason for Donghyuck to be hitting him up for their usual late-night rendezvous sessions.

He figured that the time away from Mark would do him some good though. It would give him the space he needed to figure out whatever the fuck was going on in his head about what he felt for the older boy. Contrary to what a lot of his friends think, he’s not an idiot. He knows what he feels for Mark goes beyond simple physical attraction.

Still, he doesn't particularly have the best track record when it comes to long-term committed relationships. His longest partner had lasted about three months before Donghyuck had gotten tired of him, and that was all the way back in his first year at the university.

Suffice to say, this thing with Mark that's been going on for what? Almost eight months now? Completely uncharted waters. This urge to go see Mark, for no other reason other than to just spend time with him? Terrifying as a concept.

He's getting restless, both because this is the longest he's gone without having sex since the holiday break, but also because Mark's little smiley face emojis through text isn't enough anymore.

That's how he finds himself swallowing his pride, and knocking on his roommate’s door.

Renjun opens the door and before he could even open his mouth to ask what he wants, Donghyuck beats him to the punch.

"I want to help. With the kids. For the outreach... thing."

Renjun looks at him like he's officially lost his mind. And well, maybe he has. Stupid Mark.

"Donghyuck," Renjun starts, almost cautiously. "You're a business major. We're teaching the kids about  _ science.  _ Why in the world would you want to go to this thing?"

"Because I love kids?"

"Try again."

Donghyuck groans. "Because I'm having a crisis and I need a distraction, okay?" He really hopes Renjun takes the bait. "I promise I won't disturb you guys or anything. I'll just like, watch and be the cool one that all the kids will flock to when they get bored of you guys."

Renjun just rolls his eyes and makes to close his door in Donghyuck's face, but Donghyuck wedges a foot in there and pushes back. "Junnie, I am  _ begging _ you here," Donghyuck pleads, exaggerated pout in place. "Please? I'll owe you one."

"There's literally nothing you have that I would want, Hyuck—"

"I can hook you up on a date with Wong Yukhei."

Renjun squints at him. "Bullshit. How?"

"I have a friend that owes me a bunch of favors, and where he goes, Lucas follows."  _ Sorry, Mark. _

There's a moment of deliberation, where Donghyuck can tell that Renjun is seriously considering his offer, when he adds, "And ugh, I'll buy you a new printer." 

He almost topples over when Renjun suddenly swings the door wide open. "Deal," he says. "But you're getting me an Inkjet. Friday at 3 pm, and you’re paying for our Uber there."

Donghyuck rushes forward to land an obnoxiously wet kiss onto Renjun's cheek, Renjun pushing him away in disgust as he wipes at his cheek. He laughs before running away, just barely avoiding Renjun making a grab for his shirt.

"You're the best and I love you!" Donghyuck hollers before running back into his room and closing the door behind him. 

He sighs, leaning back against the door. This is crazy.  _ He’s  _ going crazy. But he imagines how surprised Mark’s going to be when he sees Donghyuck at the event, and he can’t even bring himself to care.

_ This is totally rational behaviour for someone you think of as ‘just a friend’, _ the voice in the back of his mind supplies. Like before, it sounds suspiciously like Jeno. 

And again, Donghyuck chooses to ignore it. 

* * *

Maybe he should have reconsidered his decision before asking Renjun to put his name down as a volunteer. He didn’t really know what the event was going to be like or what they were supposed to do, but he was a little disappointed to find out that they were basically just glorified TAs for the day—tasked with showing a bunch of first graders the  _ wonders of science.  _ Although in Donghyuck’s case, it was probably closer to being a magician’s assistant. He just needed to stand there and look pretty, while occasionally passing an item over to whoever’s doing the presentation. 

It had taken a bit of prodding—and what he’d hoped was  _ subtle  _ questioning—before he figured out which classroom Mark was teaching in. Unfortunately for him, since Renjun was running the whole damn thing, it also meant that Donghyuck had to be there for the entire duration of the event. And as it turns out, Mark was only slotted in for the second half in the afternoon, so he wasn’t even here yet. 

All in all, it kind of sucked.

“Hyuck? What are  _ you _ doing here?”

The bewildered expression on Mark’s face as he steps into Donghyuck’s classroom is priceless, wide eyes blinking back at him from behind his glasses. It almost made the last couple hours he’d suffered through worth it. 

Almost. 

“Renjun roped me into it,” Donghyuck smoothly lies, grin in place. “Said you guys were short-staffed. That, and I think he just needed a ride.”

Thankfully, Mark seems to believe him, and they make small talk before Mark’s ushered to the front of the room for his presentation. He hadn’t really been paying attention to the other guy he was helping out earlier in the morning, mostly because a lot of the “experiments” were just colourful demonstrations of what happens when you mix acids and bases together with a bunch of soap. 

Still, the kids seem to love it, and Donghyuck has to admit that Mark looks absolutely fucking adorable in a lab coat and safety goggles. It’s a different side of him, one that Donghyuck hadn’t seen before. It’s not the Mark that he’s seen out on the field, barking out orders in the middle of a game, nor is it the Mark that Donghyuck is privy to behind the walls of his apartment, crying over really bad CGI from 2001. 

This Mark is softer, and a little more mature, voice enthusiastic when he’s talking about their dumb little science experiments—a preview of the future, Donghyuck thinks. It’s a good look on him. 

So wrapped up in watching Mark, he doesn’t even realize that Renjun had stepped into the room until he feels an elbow gently nudge into his side. He tears his eyes away from Mark, who had been pouring a pink liquid into another flask, to look at Renjun. There’s a knowing glint in his eye, and Donghyuck freezes.

He knows Renjun can see right through him. 

“It’s Mark, isn’t it?” Renjun asks, already knowing the answer. “The one you couldn’t tell us about.”

Donghyuck runs a hand through his hair as he lets out a defeated sigh. “Yeah.”

“I figured,” Renjun says. “I’ve had my suspicions for a while but it’s nice to have them confirmed.”

“What do you mean?” He raises an eyebrow at that. “How’d you figure it out?”

Renjun snorts. “You mean, other than the obvious?” He gestures around them, voice lowering so no one could overhear them. “No one in their right mind would subject themselves to a full day of this.”

“I mean,  _ you  _ did,” Donghyuck grumbles. “Mark did, too.”

“I  _ had _ to. You didn’t,” Renjun retorts. “And Mark’s Mark, so he doesn’t count.” They both laugh a little under their breaths at that. “But on a serious note,” Renjun continues. “You should see the way you look at him, Donghyuck. Even when we’re just at home. I haven’t seen you look at anyone like that in… well, ever, actually. But I didn’t want to assume.”

Donghyuck’s brows furrow at the last comment. “What do you mean? How do I look at him—”

They’re interrupted by a flurry of excited screams, and both Donghyuck and Renjun turn their attention to the front, where Mark had apparently caused a small explosion of multi-coloured bubbles, overflowing from the desk. He’s laughing alongside the kids as they surround him, crouching down to give a few of them soapy high-fives. 

“Like that,” Renjun says, voice quiet. “You look at him like  _ that.” _

Donghyuck frowns, and he’s about to ask Renjun to elaborate when they’re interrupted again, but this time by Mark himself. 

“Hyuck,” Mark calls out from the front of the room. “Do you mind giving me a hand with this?” 

Renjun pats him on the arm, gesturing for him to go to Mark, but not before giving him a pointed look that says their conversation is far from over. 

He makes his way over to the front of the room, eyeing the mess all over the presentation table, before pouting as Mark hands him a small towel. “You’re really putting me on clean up duty?” Donghyuck whines. “Mark, I thought we were friends.”

Mark laughs, taking off his safety goggles and replacing them with his regular pair. “You’re on clean up duty  _ because _ we’re friends,” he says. “Gotta suffer with me, after all.” 

“Asshole,” Donghyuck whispers, making sure the kids won’t hear him as they file out of the room. He sticks his tongue out childishly to prove his point, and Mark flicks soapy water at him in retaliation, giggling more when Donghyuck just scowls back at him. 

“I’ve missed you, Hyuck,” Mark says, his grin softening to a small, shy smile. “It’s been a while.”

Donghyuck hates how easily affected he is, a pleased fluttering settling in his stomach at Mark’s words. He scoffs, but he’s smiling too. “It’s only been a couple weeks, Mark. You couldn’t have missed me that much.” 

“You’d be surprised.” 

Donghyuck blinks up at Mark in shock, the bold honesty in his statement catching him off guard. He looks back down at the table, focusing on the clean up to hide the heat he feels building up in his cheeks. “Yeah, well,” he trails off, unsure of what to say to that. “How are you feeling? How’re your ribs?”  __

“It’s gotten a lot better. I can finally move around without too much pain, I think. The bruise is still there, but I’ve been cleared to join practice starting next week.”

Donghyuck perks up at that. “Already?” 

Mark grins. “Yep.” 

He lets out a pleased hum at the news, and they continue the rest of the clean up in comfortable silence. 

Donghyuck can’t help but think of the implications of Mark being back in commission, and what that meant for their little arrangement. He sneaks the occasional glance at Mark from the corner of his eye as they work, startling when he finds Mark staring back.

There’s a pause as Mark breaks eye contact to glance around the room, taking in the fact that they were the last ones in there, before he makes his way over to him. Donghyuck stops what he’s doing, turning his full attention to Mark as he’s backed up against the edge of the table. 

“I was actually planning on texting you about it, but since you’re already here,” Mark reaches out to cup his cheek, tipping Donghyuck’s head up to meet his gaze. He leans in closer, a teasing smile on his face as he speaks, voice impossibly low. “I was actually wondering if you wanted to come over soon.” 

Now  _ this. _ This was familiar territory. Donghyuck smirks, leaning in closer. “To  _ catch up?” _

Mark nods, their lips only centimeters apart now. “To catch up.”

Donghyuck deliberates for a second, before changing course, leaving a swift peck onto Mark’s cheek before pulling away. He laughs at Mark’s shocked expression before grabbing his stuff, making his way over to the door to leave.

He turns, and Mark’s still watching him, an inexplicable smile on his face. 

“I’m free tonight, so let me know what time you want me to come over.” Donghyuck hesitates for a second, hand on the doorframe, before calling out, “And Mark?”

“Hm?”

“I missed you too.”

* * *

It takes a bit of trial and error, finding a position that takes it easy on Mark’s ribs, but it ends with Donghyuck straddling Mark as he sits up against the headboard, riding him in slow, rolling motions that has Mark muffling groans into the crook of his neck. 

Mark’s fingers dig into his hips, guiding him as he grinds down against him in his lap, one of his hands eventually moving to circle around Donghyuck’s cock, trapped and leaking between their bodies. He lets Donghyuck fuck his hand as he rolls his hips, the stimulation from both that and Mark’s cock against his prostate making him tremble, head thrown back as small whimpers fall helplessly from his lips. 

He doesn’t know if it’s because it’s been a while, but neither of them last very long tonight.

Mark finishes inside him first, coming with a choked-off moan as he holds Donghyuck still above him, and it only takes a few more strokes for Donghyuck to follow right after, collapsing against Mark’s chest as he tries to get his breathing back under control. 

Mark winds an arm around his waist, keeping him close as he shifts to make them more comfortable, enjoying the warmth of Mark against him and not wanting to separate quite yet. 

Donghyuck chuckles as he nuzzles tiredly into Mark’s shoulder. “Guess getting injured didn’t make you lose your touch.”

“To be fair,” Mark says, a hand stroking up and down Donghyuck’s back. “You did most of the work.”

“Mm, yeah, I’ll take credit for it this time.” Donghyuck sighs sleepily. “God, I’ve missed your dick. Is that weird to say?”

He feels Mark laugh under him. “A little, but you’ve said weirder things, so it’s okay.” They stay like that for a while, a comfortable silence settling between them as the bask in the afterglow. Mark continues to stroke down his back, tracing odds shapes and words that he can’t quite make out.

“Are you staying over tonight?” Mark eventually asks. 

As much as Donghyuck wants to, he knows he has a conversation waiting for him at home, and Renjun usually doesn’t like to be kept waiting. “Not tonight, unfortunately.” 

A few moments pass as they slip back into silence, before Mark quietly clears his throat, tapping Donghyuck’s shoulder to get him to look up at him. “Are you doing anything over March Break?”

Donghyuck blinks up at the sudden question. “I don’t think so? Why?”

“I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to stay over?”

Donghyuck looks up at him in shock. “The whole week?”

“Yeah,” Mark shifts, eyes looking everywhere but at Donghyuck himself. “My uh, mom is under the assumption that we’re spending the break together since I told her I wasn’t going back this year. So she said she’ll be calling more often? It’d be easier if you were actually around.” 

It’s a flimsy excuse and they both know it. 

And then Mark shrugs, throwing caution to the wind. “And if I’m gonna be honest, I’m not about to say no to a chance to just hang out with you for a whole week. I like spending time with you, Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck stills at the admission. He doesn’t say anything for a few beats, and he can tell that Mark's starting to get flustered at Donghyuck's lack of a response because he flushes down to his chest and starts fiddling with the hair on the nape of Donghyuck's neck. "I mean, only if you want to? I don't want to pressure you or anything like that, it's fine if you don't want to—"

"Mark," Donghyuck cuts him off. Somehow, this reminds him of the first time they met, all the way back in that dingy bathroom, and Mark had offered to take him home. He'd interrupted him then too. "I'd love to."

Mark's eyes widen, surprised at how seemingly easy it was to get Donghyuck to agree to it. "Really?"

Donghyuck smiles, sitting up in his lap. "An entire week of uninterrupted sex? With  _ you?  _ How could I say no to that?"

Mark laughs, tension from earlier bleeding from his shoulders as his hands come up to curl around Donghyuck’s nape, pulling him in for another kiss. “I’m glad.” He nips at Donghyuck’s bottom lip playfully, before moving down to trail kisses down his jawline. “And I promise I’ll make it worth your while.” 

Mark continues to kiss his way down Donghyuck’s chest, and Donghyuck rolls his hips down once, then twice, arousal stirring in his gut once more. His hands tangle in Mark’s hair, pulling him back up to capture Mark’s lips. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Donghyuck whispers, feeling Mark smile into the kiss.

It looks like Renjun’s just going to have to wait a little longer, after all. 

* * *

He gets home just after dinner, to find Renjun in the living room with his laptop, a re-run of some shitty sitcom running on mute in the background on their TV. Donghyuck drops his bag as soon as he gets through the front door, tiredly flopping down onto the couch and leaning his head down on Renjun's shoulder.

"What does it mean when a guy you've been casually fucking randomly asks you to spend a whole week over at his house?"

Renjun stops typing, turning incredulous eyes over to Donghyuck's troubled face. "Seriously?"

Donghyuck could only nod pathetically. "I’m so fucked, Jun. I'm in, like, way over my head with Mark. "

Renjun closes his laptop and places it on the coffee table in front of them. He gets up, and Donghyuck pouts even more, thinking he's being abandoned, but then Renjun tugs on his hand to get him to stand too.

"I'm gonna need a drink for this, and I think you do too," he says, pulling Donghyuck up and pushing him into the kitchen. "And then, you're going to tell me everything. From the beginning."

They break out the bottle of tequila that Jaemin had hidden in their apartment just for the occasion—a hand-written post-it note with the label "For Severe Emotional Breakdowns Only" haphazardly taped to the front of the bottle—before they settle down on the floor in front of the couch, mixed drinks in hand.

"So," Renjun starts. "When and how did this thing between you two even start?"

Donghyuck sighs, staring down at his drink. "D'you remember that stupid varsity thing that Jeno dragged me out to at the end of last summer?" Renjun nods. "He was at the afterparty and well, you know how it goes,” he says, smiling wryly in recollection. “And I guess it just never stopped?"

"Hyuck—" The disbelief is clear in Renjun's voice. "You've been fooling around with Mark for what? Seven months?"

"Closer to eight," Donghyuck mumbles. "But yeah."

"...  _ Just _ Mark?"

Donghyuck squeezes his eyes shut. "Yeah," he confirms, voice weak. "I haven't hooked up with anyone else." And then, in an attempt to justify himself, he adds, "But I mean, he was convenient? And it was easier than going out and finding someone new every time."

"Holy shit, Hyuck. You’ve been hooking up with  _ just  _ him all year?" Given how often Donghyuck used to come home well after Renjun had already fallen asleep, he can understand why it’d be a little surprising to find out it’d only been because of one person. Still, the walk of shame from Mark’s place was still better than the risk of getting caught fucking in their apartment. 

There's a pause, before Renjun hesitantly asks, "Has Mark been with anyone else?"

"I don't know," he answers. "Not that I know of?"

"Honestly, Donghyuck, do  _ you  _ think he has?"

"... No."

"Then, congratulations. You're officially in what most people would consider a monogamous relationship—"

"No," Donghyuck cuts him off with a frown. "That's not—that's not what he wants. We've known from the beginning that this didn't mean anything." He catches his mistake and corrects himself. "That it  _ doesn't _ mean anything."

"People can change their minds, Hyuck. I mean," Renjun says. "Didn't you?"

He doesn't say anything for a while, unable to come up with a proper reply. 

"I don't... want to ruin this," Donghyuck admits. "What we have now, it's… good. It’s easy—” He shakes his head. “God, it's  _ so _ easy with him, Renjun, it's never been like this with anyone else." He takes a breath to ground himself, a sad smile on his face before he shrugs. "I don't have the best track record for these kinds of things, and you know that. It won't end well. I can’t risk fucking it up by asking for more."

"Hyuck, you're not gonna fuck this up. I know it because I've  _ seen _ you two together." Renjun frowns, brows furrowed in concern. "Have you even talked to him about this yet? About what he feels about you?" 

Donghyuck shakes his head. He can't. He's too much of a coward.

"I like him, Renjun," Donghyuck whispers, and it's the first time he's ever said the words out loud. "I like him more than I think I should." And he’s terrified to think of what would happen if Mark decides that he doesn’t feel the same, so he’d rather keep things as they are, rather than lose Mark because he was foolish enough to get too attached.

“I really think you should talk to him, Donghyuck,” Renjun says. “Before either of you get hurt.”

Donghyuck says nothing, just reaches out to finish off the rest of his drink. 

Mercifully, Renjun takes the hint and changes the topic. "So, what's this about him asking you to stay over for a week?"

"Over March break," Donghyuck clarifies. "And I'd already said yes." He brings his legs up, dropping his head down onto his knees with a groan. "Fuck, what am I even doing anymore? What if I have to lie to his mom again?"

“His  _ mom?” _ Renjust asks, eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. “Back the fuck up there, Donghyuck. What? You’ve met his mom?  _ Why?” _

Donghyuck freezes at that. So much has happened with Mark over these last few months, that he forgets that most people wouldn’t know that it isn’t just about the sex. “I, uh, may have also lied to his mom and am kind of? Pretending to be Mark’s boyfriend? But just to her—”

Renjun brings a hand up to stop him before he could go any further. “From the beginning, Hyuck. You’re going to tell me  _ everything.” _

Donghyuck sighs, and takes a shot for courage before he talks. He tells Renjun about everything—from all the nights he’s spent over at Mark’s  _ not _ having sex, the first phone call with Mark’s mother, meeting Taeyong, and all the way up to now, including Mark and his injury. He’d even told him about the stupid Lord of the Rings marathons that Mark had subjected him to (although he’d left out certain details that his friend was better off not knowing about). 

Renjun’s left speechless by the time he’s done, reeling at just how entrenched Mark’s become in Donghyuck’s life, and vice versa, from what it sounded like. 

“Hyuck,” Renjun’s face is pinched as he looks at Donghyuck. “Are you blind, or are you just an idiot? Forget what I said earlier about talking to Mark, he couldn’t have made himself any more clear.”

“What—” 

“If it hasn’t been  _ painfully _ obvious to you yet, Donghyuck. You guys are already basically dating.” Renjun laughs then, patting Donghyuck on the knee. “Please get your shit together. And once you do, don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.” 

* * *

Donghyuck keeps going over his conversation with Renjun in his mind. It feels like there's a weight off his chest, now that he's finally admitted to himself that he actually likes Mark—and in more than just a convenient-friend-that-gives-great-head kind of way. He can’t help but revisit all their previous interactions, looking for signs that might hint to his feelings being more reciprocated than he originally thought.

And once he starts thinking about it, he can't get himself to stop, not even as he finds himself ringing the doorbell to Mark's apartment, a week's worth of clothes stuffed into the duffel bag in his hand.

The first couple of days go almost exactly how Donghyuck had expected it to. Unable to keep their hands off of each other for very long, they end up fucking on almost every available surface in Mark's apartment that they can—bent over the back of the couch, on top of the kitchen counter, against the windows to Mark’s balcony, and hell, it'd taken a couple of hours of Donghyuck riling him up, but eventually, Mark had even agreed to the wall sex.

Everything is good. Great, even. It’s been a surreal past couple of days for him. 

But the thing is, it's not just the sex that's been good.

It's waking up to Mark burning breakfast in the kitchen, and Donghyuck banning him from cooking for the rest of his stay there. It's in the warmth radiating from Mark's body, his arms wrapped tightly around Donghyuck’s waist, as he watches him work over his shoulder. 

It's the quiet comfort that settles between them as they watch TV, Donghyuck's head cushioned on Mark's shoulder as they take turns ripping apart whatever is playing because—and Donghyuck is pleasantly surprised to find this out—with the exception of the Lord of the Rings franchise, they actually have quite similar tastes in things like music and trashy reality shows.

It's Donghyuck finding out that Mark can play the guitar, and then Mark finding out that Donghyuck liked to sing, and the hours and hours lost to their little jam sessions in bed. It's Donghyuck looking at Mark and his smile as he watches Donghyuck from the corner of his eye, and how it makes him think back to Renjun’s last words.

It's all so painfully domestic—a reminder of what they're  _ not— _ and Donghyuck is close to losing his mind.

It all comes to a head on the third day, when Mark's mother calls in some time just before lunch, and she'd asked Donghyuck if he'd wanted to learn a Lee family recipe to make for their meal. She'd clearly just wanted an excuse to get Donghyuck alone though, because she sends Mark out to pick something up from Taeyong's place only a few minutes into the call.

Donghyuck had told Mark to go ahead and that he’d be fine, a nervous smile on his face as he pressed a kiss onto Mark’s cheek in front of the camera for show. He tries to convince himself that he's perfectly capable of handling Mark's mother without supervision, but he can't help the sense of unease that settles in as soon as Mark leaves the apartment.

Tablet perched on a stack of Mark’s books in the kitchen, she talks him through preparing the ingredients for a simple stew, making small talk about how things have been going with him at the university, and if Mark's been treating him well. It's basic stuff, and Donghyuck finds that he doesn't even have to lie when it comes to questions about Mark. As casual as their arrangement had been, he'd never been anything but a gentleman this entire time.

"I was so surprised, you know," Mrs. Lee starts, voice softening as she changes the topic. "When Mark told me that he wasn't coming back home for the break."

"Oh?" Donghyuck keeps his focus on the task in front of him, hoping she can’t see the slight tremor in his hands at the nerves.

"He's never done this before, not since he moved out there. He tends to get homesick after a while, and he usually jumps at the chance to come back and visit." She smiles at him through the screen, and it's kind. "I actually don’t think he’s even done this for any of his previous partners, so you must be really special to him, Donghyuck, that he chose to stay. I'm glad you found each other."

Donghyuck's hands still on the cutting board, heart skipping a beat at her words.

She continues though, unaware of the storm brewing in Donghyuck’s mind. “Gosh, dear, you should’ve seen him when he came home last Christmas! I’ve never seen Mark so antsy to go back to the university, so I should’ve known that there was someone there waiting for him.” She laughs, a light, twinkling sound. 

A few more moments pass, as Donghyuck continues to follow her instructions, letting the stew simmer away at the stovetop as he turns his attention back to her face on the screen. She studies Donghyuck for a beat, before beckoning him to come closer to the screen. 

Her voice is quiet when she speaks, but her words are clear. “I… know he may not look it, but Mark used to be very lonely. You know how he is, and how hard he is on himself, with everything that he’s trying to do. He must be so tired.” Donghyuck thinks about the millions of things that Mark has going on at the university—thinks back to that night he fell asleep in his lap—and he nods to let her know he’s listening.

“I’ve always felt so horrible that there was never much we could do for him because of the distance, so I wanted to personally thank you, for being there with him.” Her smile reminds him a lot of Mark’s, and he can see where he gets it from. “When he visited over the break, it was like he was someone else, you know? You’ve made him really happy. He’s lucky to have you, Donghyuck.”

“No, ma’am,” Donghyuck shakes his head, throat constricting with the emotions flooding through him.  _ “I’m  _ the one that should be considered lucky here. Mark is… very very special to me.”

“I know things are still pretty new with you guys,” she says. “But I trust that you’ll take good care of him for me over there, won’t you?”

“Of course,” Donghyuck chokes out, his stomach churning. “Always.”

“Okay,” she says, closing her eyes for a moment before she looks back up at him, eyes glassy. “Thank you, Donghyuck.”

The call ends shortly afterwards, and while Mark’s still not home, Donghyuck allows himself a few tears, shoulders hunched as he leans against the countertop. Donghyuck hates the fact that he’s lying to her, but even more than that, he hates just how desperately he wants to believe her—how much he wants to  _ be  _ everything she said he was for Mark, and more. 

He’s never wanted something to be real so badly in his life.

When Mark gets home, Donghyuck is still in the kitchen, eyes dry but the ache in his chest ever-present. He feels Mark cup his face, tilting it up to meet his eyes and Mark’s brows furrow in concern at whatever it is he sees in Donghyuck’s expression. 

“Hyuck?” Mark gently calls out. “How did everything go with my mom?”

“It went—” Donghyuck croaks, before he clears his throat. “It went great. Your mother was lovely.” 

He feels Mark’s thumb brush against his cheek, and his heart clenches at the gesture. “Are you okay?” Mark whispers. 

Donghyuck stares at Mark’s face, into his eyes, taking everything in before he nods. “I’m fine,” he says, moving forward to capture Mark’s lips in a gentle kiss. “It’s nothing.” 

Mark blinks back at him, and at the unexpected kiss. They don’t usually kiss unless they know it’ll lead to something else, and for a second Donghyuck is afraid that he may have crossed a line. But then Mark smiles, Donghyuck’s heart beating rapidly at the sight, before leaning in again for another kiss, this one longer, more sure. 

The fluttering in Donghyuck’s chest is back, but this time it’s different—this time, it feels a little bit like hope. 

* * *

Everything changes on the evening of the fourth day.

The day starts off normally enough. They both wake up sometime in the late morning, lazing around in bed before they force themselves to get up. They’ve settled into a routine of sorts—arguing over what to watch over lunch before Donghyuck inevitably wins, Mark following him into the shower before they move it to the bed, and then the post-coitus afternoon nap that has Donghyuck waking up unbearably warm under the sheets. 

There’s an undercurrent of something softer, something quieter underneath their usual friendly banter, ever since their kiss in the kitchen the day before. He catches Mark looking over at him more often—although, he supposes it’s only because he finds himself looking back just as much, unable to keep his eyes off of Mark for very long. 

Mark decides to take Donghyuck out for dinner that night, a relatively nice Italian restaurant that is decidedly  _ not _ somewhere you would take someone who was strictly  _ ‘just a friend’. _ The restaurant is filled with almost exclusively couples, from what Donghyuck observes, and he’s both impressed at Mark’s forwardness, and terrified of the implication. 

He tries to text Renjun while Mark’s in the bathroom, but all he gets in reply is an unhelpful  _ ‘enjoy your date!’  _ followed by a string of very inappropriate emojis. 

Despite Donghyuck’s internal freakout over the fact that this was (probably) a date, it really isn’t any different from any of the other times he’s gone out with Mark. It’s comfortable, as it always is with him, and he finds himself quickly relaxing, the rest of their surroundings falling away until all he could focus on was Mark in front of him.

The hours pass between coquettish smiles and furtive touches, their legs interlocked under their table almost the entire meal, and before they know they’re already back home, Mark’s hand on his lower back as he leads them back inside. 

“Do you want a drink, Hyuck?” Mark asks, as they step back into the apartment. “I bought a couple bottles of red before you came over, if you wanted to try it.” 

Donghyuck grins. “Mark Lee drinking anything other than craft beer? I’ll believe it when I see it,” he teases, following Mark into the kitchen. They’d already had a couple drinks at the restaurant, but he figures a couple more wouldn’t hurt. Plus, he likes seeing the flush on Mark’s cheeks—it makes it terribly hard for him to say no to anything Mark asks for, really. 

“Like you’re one to talk,” Mark says, pulling out two wine glasses from his cupboard. “Renjun told me all about that White Claw addiction.”

“That traitorous bitch,” Donghyuck pouts, accepting his glass. “They’re easy to drink, okay. And they’re still better than your shitty IPAs.” 

Mark makes a noncommittal noise as he fills both their glasses, the corner of his mouth quirking up in amusement. He leans his hip against the counter, taking his glass and lifting it in Donghyuck's direction. "Cheers, Hyuck," Mark says, clinking their glasses together. "I'm really glad you're here."

Donghyuck smiles back at him from behind the rim of his glass. "I am too." 

They talk for a while, enjoying each other's company as they drink through half the bottle. The liquid burns bittersweet in the back of his throat, and neither of them brings it up—the dinner, what it was actually supposed to be ( _was_ it a date?), or about the weird energy that's been culminating between them since the first night that Donghyuck decided to stay over.

They slowly gravitate towards each other as the night drags on, leaning against the counters almost shoulder to shoulder. Mark’s in the middle of telling him an anecdote about something involving the lax team but Donghyuck isn’t listening, not really. Not when Mark’s standing so close to him, the warmth from his body radiating through the thin material of his shirt and the marks he’d left earlier just peeking above his collar. 

He knows he isn’t being subtle about it but god, Donghyuck  _ wants.  _

Mark stops mid-sentence when he meets Donghyuck’s gaze, before reaching over to take Donghyuck's glass from his hand, setting it aside on the counter as his other hand comes up to cup Donghyuck's cheek. He doesn't know whether it's the pleasant buzz from the wine—or because he can feel  _ something  _ between them about to shift—but Donghyuck covers Mark's hand with his own, closing his eyes and nuzzling his face into the warmth of Mark's palm.

He can feel Mark step in closer, breath ghosting over Donghyuck's lips as he hovers hesitantly, almost as if he was waiting for permission. Donghyuck opens his eyes and looks up to meet Mark's gaze, heavy with arousal and another emotion that he can't quite place. Donghyuck waits for a beat before nodding minutely, a thrill running up his spine as Mark rushes forward to capture his lips in a kiss that threatens to take his breath away.

It's different, Donghyuck notes. It feels different from all the other times Mark has kissed him. There's a tenderness to the way Mark caresses his face, and in the hand that gently lays itself across his lower back to pull him in even closer.

Mark's the first to break away, thumb tipping Donghyuck's head back to give him access to his throat, kissing down the constellation of freckles that he's come to know so,  _ so _ well. Donghyuck feels every kiss pressed into his skin as if it burned like a brand, Mark's lips traveling lower and lower, fingers deftly undoing the buttons on his shirt. Donghyuck feels his knees weaken, start to buckle under the touch, and the only thing holding him up is Mark's body pressing him up against the counter.

It's not enough.  _ God,  _ it will never be enough. Not with Mark.

"Mark," Donghyuck pleads, reaching up to tangle his hands in Mark's hair, fingers twitching between the urge to pull Mark in even closer or push him away to give him a moment to think. "Can we— _ah_ —"

Mark draws himself back up, pushing Donghyuck's shirt off his shoulders to pool by his elbows and gripping Donghyuck by the hips to lift him up to sit on top of the counter. His legs spread open to make room for Mark, pulling him in for another bruising kiss as he fumbles with undoing Mark's belt.

He feels Mark's hand come up to stop him as he reaches for the button on Mark's jeans, the both of them pausing at the action. They're both panting, breathing heavily as they take each other in, Donghyuck's heart pounding so heavily in his chest so hard he swears Mark could hear it. 

Mark takes Donghyuck's hand in his, bringing it up to press a featherlight kiss onto his knuckles.

"Tell me what you want tonight, Donghyuck," Mark whispers. "And I'll give it to you." Then, he leans in for a proper kiss, lips brushing against Donghyuck's like a promise. "Anything you want."

Donghyuck is silent for a while, pulling back to search Mark's face—for what exactly, he isn't sure, but he thinks he's found what he's looking for when he nods, arms circling around Mark's shoulders to pull the older boy flush against him, leaning up to whisper directly into his ear.

"You," Donghyuck says simply. "I want you."  _ All of you. _

* * *

They make their way back to Mark’s bedroom eventually, clothes pulled off and discarded between rough kisses, pressed up against the walls. Mark’s hands can’t seem to get enough of him, touching him everywhere, mapping out his skin and pulling him impossibly close. He walks them backwards onto the bed, Donghyuck pulling him down roughly on top of him, not even giving him a second to breathe before crushing their mouths back together in a fervent kiss.

Mark’s the first to pull away, smiling as Donghyuck whines at the loss of contact. He smooths his hands over Donghyuck’s thighs, coaxing them to spread further apart as he kneels in between them, leaning back to take a good long look at him.

“Why’d you stop?” Donghyuck asks, breathing heavily against the sheets. He feels himself start to flush under the scrutiny, Mark’s gaze hot and heavy as he rakes his eyes over his body. Despite the number of times they’ve fucked in the past, something about this moment feels raw—like he’s exposed, and Mark’s seeing him for the first time all over again. 

Mark shakes his head before shifting forward, planting his hands on either side of Donghyuck’s ribs and brushing his lips down the side of Donghyuck’s neck. “It’s nothing,” he murmurs. “Just taking you in.” He nips gently at his pulse, before soothing it over with his tongue. “Trying to decide where I want to touch you first.”

“Fuck,” Donghyuck groans. “Literally anywhere, please.” His hands fly up to brace against Mark’s arms when Mark sucks down particularly hard, right where his neck meets his shoulder, before trailing down lower, licking and biting marks that he knows will last for days.  _ “Mark.” _

Mark chuckles lowly against him, hand coming up to tip Donghyuck’s head to the other side, giving him access to more skin. Donghyuck’s hand moves up from his arms to curl into Mark’s hair, pulling him off and up to lick into his mouth instead, biting down harshly onto Mark’s bottom lip to stifle a moan as Mark rolls his hips down, pressing the length of his hard cock against his own. 

“I’m still stretched from earlier,” Donghyuck groans. “I don’t need much prep, so— _ah_ —” His back arches off the bed when Mark traces over his nipple with his tongue. “Fuck,” he whimpers. “I’ve wanted you inside me since dinner, Mark, so don’t make me wait anymore.  _ Please.” _

Mark must be more affected than he let on, because instead of arguing like Donghyuck expected him to, he just nods, leaning up for one last kiss before reaching off to the side for his bedside drawer. 

“Mark, wait, don’t—” Donghyuck stops him with a hand on Mark’s outstretched arm, thighs coming up to cage Mark’s hips in place. “Can we—” He swallows, before looking Mark straight in the eyes. “No condoms.”

“Hyuck—”

“I’m clean.” They’ve had this conversation before, but have always preferred condoms for the easier clean up. Donghyuck feels his cheeks heating up at the request, eyes darting past Mark’s face as he admits, “and I… I haven’t been—y’know, with anyone else. Not since you.” And then, in a quieter voice, “There hasn’t been anyone other than you.” 

Mark’s eyes soften as he searches Donghyuck’s face, looking for any trace of uncertainty. “Alright,” he says, grabbing the lube and setting it aside before dipping his head down for a tender kiss. “Whatever you want, Hyuck,” he whispers. “And you know it’s the same for me, right? There hasn’t been anyone else for me either, not while I had you.”

Something settles within him at the confirmation, nodding before he wraps his arms around Mark’s neck, pulling him in closer to whisper in his ear. “Don’t pull out then,” he says, pausing before he adds. “I want to feel you come inside me.”

“ _Donghyuck_ ,” Mark rasps, the sound of his name going straight to his cock. “Christ, you’re actually trying to kill me, aren’t you?” 

Mark makes quick work of stretching Donghyuck out, two fingers sliding in easily, still loose from their afternoon session, but he takes his time after adding a third, knowing exactly where to crook his fingers to make Donghyuck scream. Donghyuck watches, eyes half-lidded, as Mark strokes himself with his other hand, getting off to the sight of Donghyuck writhing from just his fingers.

“Baby, please,” Donghyuck pleads, grinding his hips down, desperate for more. “In me, _ now.  _ Please fuck me already, I can’t—” 

Mark gently shushes him with a kiss as he withdraws his hand, Donghyuck clenching around nothing, before Mark’s leaning over him and Donghyuck feels the lubed head of Mark’s cock against his rim. He throws his head back with a high-pitched keen when Mark enters him in one quick thrust, and he can’t remember ever being this aroused. It’s intense, the feeling of Mark’s cock inside him with nothing between them, and he can only imagine how good it feels for Mark himself. 

“Fuck,” Mark says with a short, breathless laugh, arms are braced on either side of him as he leans down to rest his forehead against Donghyuck’s shoulder. “Oh my god, Hyuck.”

Donghyuck runs his hands along Mark’s back, feeling the tension in his muscles from holding himself back. He clenches around Mark experimentally, smiling as Mark hisses out another expletive. “Good?”

“You have no idea,” Mark says, before he reaches up for another languid kiss, slow and unhurried as he shifts forward to push in even deeper. 

Donghyuck’s answering moan is all the prompting he needs before he’s lifting Donghyuck’s legs to rest over his shoulders, driving his hips forward with slow, deep thrusts, Donghyuck bent almost in half as Mark aims for the spot he knows will make him cry out in pleasure. 

His fingers tangle in the sheets to ground himself when Mark brushes against his prostate, and Mark starts to pick up the pace, watching Donghyuck’s face as he fucks into him, eyes squeezed shut and lips parted as he gasps out Mark’s name over, and over, and over again.

“God, you feel so good like this,” Mark pants, the rhythm of his thrusts becoming more erratic. “Fuck, you’re incredible. I—” Mark cuts himself, leaning in to kiss Donghyuck instead, who arches up into him. 

“Mark,” Donghyuck whispers brokenly. “Please, I want—” 

Mark slows down as he shifts, dropping Donghyuck’s legs from his shoulders so that he could wrap them around his waist instead. He drapes his body over Donghyuck so that their chests are flushed together, holding himself up with one arm braced against the side of Donghyuck’s head as he sucks more bruises along the column of Donghyuck’s throat. 

Mark’s other hand reaches out to detangle Donghyuck’s fingers from the sheets, locking their fingers together before he brings their joint hands up to pin it against the bed on the other side of Donghyuck’s head. He rocks into Donghyuck slowly—not gentle by any means, but still slow, almost painfully intimate.

They’ve never fucked like this before, and Donghyuck knows he isn’t going to last much longer. Not with the way that Mark starts whispering coaxing praises into his ear, kissing him so sweetly, so tenderly that Donghyuck feels like he’s about to cry.

When he comes, he does so untouched, a shuddering cry of Mark’s name falling from his lips as a couple of tears slip out and trail down his cheeks. He feels absolutely overwhelmed, but in a good way, heart full of something he doesn’t want to put a name to quite yet. He doesn’t let go of Mark, keeps him locked in place with his legs as he rides out his own orgasm. Mark groans low into the crook of Donghyuck’s neck, his cock twitching as he spills inside of him, making Donghyuck shiver at the sensation.

A few moments pass as they both try to catch their breath before Donghyuck eases his aching legs back down onto the mattress, Mark dropping his full weight down onto him with a soft sigh. Arms wrapping around Mark to hold him close, they lay there, tired and sated, before Mark rolls them over onto their side. 

He knows they should probably clean up. They should probably talk things through too—he knows everything will be different come tomorrow morning, and that he needs to hear the words come straight from Mark’s mouth. But as his eyes struggle to stay open, and with Mark tucking him under his chin and holding him close to his chest, he can’t find it in himself to care. Not right now, not when he can hear the steady beat of Mark’s heart under his ear, matching the thundering of his own. 

Mark pulls the blanket over them both, just like that first night all those months ago, but this time, Mark dips his head down for one last kiss to Donghyuck’s forehead, fingers coming up to drag through his hair in the way he knows Donghyuck likes.

“Sleep, Donghyuck,” Mark murmurs into his hair. “Tomorrow. I promise.” 

He nods, arm coming around to circle Mark’s waist as he buries deeper into the nook of his shoulder, giving in to the pull of a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Donghyuck blearily blinks awake before the sun has even fully come up, the room still dark enough that he can just barely make out the outline of Mark’s body sleeping next to him, his arm curled around Donghyuck’s waist. He slowly moves to get out of bed, carefully so as not to wake Mark up, and he grimaces at the remnants of dried come all over his stomach—a physical reminder of everything that transpired last night. 

He can feel his cheeks heat up as flashes of last night play in his mind’s eye. He remembers the way Mark had looked at him all throughout dinner, all of the tentative brushes of skin, and how Mark had held him close and fucked him so sweetly. He remembers  _ everything. _

Donghyuck sits on the edge of the bed, heart hammering in his chest. The thought of running away briefly enters his mind, as he’d done so many times in the past, but he quickly dismisses the idea. He knows he has to talk to Mark. It’s been a long time coming, and they’ve gone past the point of being able to ignore it any longer.

He opts to take a quick shower instead, to clear his mind and give him some time to prepare for the inevitable confrontation. Donghyuck stares into the mirror inside the bathroom, looking at the array of marks that litter his skin, tracing it with his fingers as he remembers every press of Mark’s lips against them. It’s a little embarrassing, how much he’s come to like them—and by proxy, how much he’s come to like  _ Mark. _

Said boy is still sleeping soundly by the time Donghyuck finishes his shower and peeks into the bedroom. The sun’s fully risen, but Donghyuck decides to let him sleep in. He steals one of Mark’s many sweatpants, forgoing a shirt as he heads back out to the kitchen. 

He busies himself with making them a quick breakfast, thoughts of what he wanted to say to Mark spinning circles in his head. He thinks about the past year, and all the little ways that Mark’s incorporated himself into his life. He thinks about the little bear keychain that now dangles on his soccer bag, his very own good luck charm during games, and how he’d started unironically using  _ ‘haha’ _ while texting. Mark was everywhere, in all the little things, and Donghyuck can’t believe it’s taken him this long to realize it. 

He wants it all with Mark, wants a proper relationship. He wants the sleepy mornings, and the late nights, and everything in between. Everything that Mark would be willing to give him. 

Renjun was right, he really was an idiot. 

So lost in his thoughts that he doesn’t even realize he’s starting to burn the eggs until he feels an arm wrap around his waist, and lips pressed against his bare shoulder. 

“You’re pulling a me,” Mark mumbles. His hair is damp as it tickles Donghyuck’s cheek, and he isn’t wearing a shirt either, skin still warm from the heat of the shower. He hadn’t even realized that Mark was awake. 

Donghyuck hums, turning the stove off to try and salvage what’s in the pan. “Looks like you’re eating toast for breakfast.” 

Mark chuckles, and Donghyuck feels him pull him in closer, flush against him. Neither of them say anything for a while, as Donghyuck finishes up, movements deliberately slow. He’s stalling.

“Hyuck,” Mark whispers, pressing another kiss to his shoulder. “Are we going to talk about this?”

“That depends,” Donghyuck answers, tone light as he leans back against him. His arms come up to cover Mark’s around his waist. “Depends on how the conversation’s gonna go, I guess.”

Mark snorts, before he turns Donghyuck around to look at him properly. There’s a determined look in his eyes and blush high on his cheeks, and Donghyuck is  _ smitten,  _ heartbeat picking up in his chest at the sight.

“In case you’ve missed the memo these past few months,” Mark starts. “I’m kind of stupid about you. It’s actually kind of embarrassing how obvious I’ve been, but I guess it wasn’t obvious enough.” He smiles then, the crooked little grin that Donghyuck’s come to adore. “I’m surprised it took you this long to catch on, really.” 

Donghyuck stares at him, dumbstruck at the confession. “You—” he shakes his head in disbelief. “Why didn’t you  _ say _ anything?”

“I didn’t want to scare you off? I knew you weren’t really looking for anything serious, and I was content with just being friends at first, but well—” Mark shrugs, grin softening into a small, shy smile. “I fell for you a long, long time ago, Hyuck. I was willing to wait for however long it took until you were ready.” 

“God, I must’ve been such a pain in the ass to deal with,” Donghyuck whines, head dropping down onto Mark’s shoulder with a groan. “I’m sorry for being such a dense idiot.” 

Mark just laughs, arms circling around him once more as he presses a kiss into Donghyuck’s hair. “I wouldn’t say you were that bad, but it’s okay,” he says. “I love you anyway.”

Donghyuck lifts his head, and the kiss comes naturally, the instinct to reach out for Mark almost muscle memory by now. It isn’t their first kiss, not by a longshot, but it’s definitely one for the books. His hands come up to frame Mark’s face, a contented sigh escaping him as Mark tilts his head to deepen the kiss.

Donghyuck is the first to pull away, resting his forehead against Mark’s as he fights to keep a lovesick smile off of his face. “Can you say it again?” 

“I love you.” 

“Again.”

“Hyuck—”

“C’mon, please? Again?”

A fond, but exasperated sigh. “I love you.” A pause, and a teasing grin. “Unfortunately.”

Donghyuck bites his lip, unable to hold back the giddy laugh as he pulls Mark in for another kiss. “I’m sorry it took so long,” he whispers against Mark’s lips. “But I love you too.”

Mark smiles, and it warms Donghyuck to the core before he leans in for one last peck. “I know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/dhyuckiees) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/dhyuckIees)
> 
> and it's doneeeee!!! i wrote this entire chapter in like a week rip 10/10 would not do it again (but maybe I'll add in a small epilogue.... maybe..) haha please let me know what you guys thought! this fic was a bit of a challenge so I'm still not 100% happy with it ndksjs


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